Jewel Thief Turned Heart Thief
by Gone Rampant
Summary: What if Summer Rose's fateful mission took her through a small hamlet where she saw a young girl with green hair and red eyes? What could change? Well, Qrow begins to wonder if Summer just picks up strays like other people pick up cats (Eventual Emerald/Weiss). A collection of slice of life fluff stories where Emerald gets a healthy family. Art by Raffurano on Tumblr.
1. Butterfly Flaps and we all fall down

_**Jewel Thief Turned Heart Thief Chapter 1**_

 **Blame my friend Qley for this. Or thank her. Please thank her, she's a cool lady.**

* * *

Stupid weather.

Summer had wanted to just first airship out of town and cut down on the distance to where her mission was, so she could get it done as fast as possible and get home soon after. She trusted Tai with her life, and with the house. She didn't trust him to look after children for an extended period of time.

But the storm had picked up out of nowhere, so Summer found herself in a tavern close to the airship port, wiling away the hours. She pitied anyone caught outside right now, which included the travelers just arriving. Summer was just thankful that she got the last room, at least.

The place was filling up now, people looking for either warm food in their stomachs or just shelter from the storm. Summer herself was waiting for a steak, maybe a little dressing-

Her hand shot out to grab the wrist snaking into her pocket. She twisted, pulling the pickpocket in front of her while thumbing the safety on one of her guns. But instead of hardened eyes seeking money or even frenzied, she saw desperation, loneliness. Fear. Summer relaxed, safety clicking back on as she took in the child in front of her.

Red eyes, vibrant compared to the dull crimson of Qrow's own orbs, mint-green hair hanging loosely. Sunken cheeks and a far too thin stomach spoke of someone who had lived rough. What made Summer's breath catch in her throat was the age- she couldn't have been older than Yang.

That thought made her think of her Sunny Little Dragon, who she'd taken in after Raven left. The thought of leaving this child sat poorly with her, and Summer made a snap decision.

She caught the barkeep's attention. "I need a second plate of what I just ordered for this kid," she said quickly. "Also, do you have a cot I can borrow for the night?"

The barkeep nodded. "For the kid? Sure. I'll bring it up to your room when this place dies down. It'll cost ya, though."

Summer flashed a lien chip. "Money's no objection."

A quiet snort of "Huntsmen," was the only response as they left. Summer turned her attention back to the child, who was looking between the Huntress and the door.

"If you're going to run," Summer murmured, "mind waiting until after you eat? I'm hungry, but not enough for two full portions."

The kid froze. "What, uh... what do you want?"

Summer shivered as a chill ran down her back. Odd, given that the place was so warm. "Nothing," she eventually said. "You just look hungry. What's your name?"

The kid seemed confused at the first half of the sentence, like goodwill was an alien concept. "Emerald. Emerald Sustrai."

"Emerald, where's your mother?" No response. "Your dad?" A shake of the head. "Where do you live?"

Still nothing. Summer could imagine Raven now, telling her to stop looking at every stray the world threw at her and hoping to make their lives better. The weak needed to be culled for the sake of the strong.

Summer told that voice in her head where it could fuck off, since she wasn't in the mood to hear about who was worth what from a deadbeat partner.

"Emerald, if you have nowhere to go, do you want to come with me? I can help you."

"Why?" Emerald looked at her like it was a trap.

"Because I became a Huntress to help people. You're people in need of help. Is that not enough?"

The meal arrived, and Emerald's reply was cut off by her tearing into the meal like a starving vulture. Summer couldn't complain, she wasn't much better at table manners.

* * *

Summer later called in that she couldn't take the job and that it should be passed to another Huntsman. Something had come up, she said quickly, which was accepted. She changed her flight, getting one heading to Patch and getting a second ticket after a conversation with Emerald. She hadn't wanted to be forceful, but she'd be damned if she was going to leave this kid behind (If nothing else, Summer was ready, willing and able to call social services the first chance she got).

She gave Qrow a quick call after landing. "Hey, something came up, I'm coming back home."

 _"I'm not complaining,"_ came the raspy response, _"but what's this thing? Anything I need to worry about?"_

Summer chuckled lightly. "It's easier to show you." Just to be a jerk about it, she hung up as Qrow began to question that sentence.

She turned back to Emerald, who was still clutching the seat like she'd never flown before. Summer chided herself- of course she wouldn't. "You ready to go Emerald?"

Emerald nodded and they left the airship. Summer did much of the talking as they made their way through terminals and to her car, letting Emerald soak in the sights of Patch while she talked about Ruby and Yang.

Qrow was outside when she pulled up, using his scythe to cut grass. He shot a smile at her as she got out. "Hey there Short-Stack. You're back quickly-"

He saw Emerald, jaw snapping shut. "You weren't gone _that_ long, were you? I know we did some funky stuff a few nights ago, but..."

"Qrow, I couldn't leave her. Besides, you did want another kid. But do you really want to go through pregnancy again?"

Qrow shivered as the memories of being used as a portable scratching post 24/7 came back to his mind, alongside the exclamations Tai had heard during his efforts to hide at Tai's place.

 _"Men aren't built that way Tai! There is no sleep, just friction!"_

"Yeah, avoiding that would be nice... _if_ we wanted another kid. Aren't you already looking after Yang on top of Petal?"

"We have room, don't we? And we make enough from being Huntsmen." Summer help up a quick hand. "No, I don't care about your Semblance, Ruby surviving as long as she has with us as her parents is proof you're not a bad luck charm."

"OK, fine." Qrow crossed his arms. "How about said Huntsmen duties? We're not invincible Summer, one day there'll be something that could beat us and your daughters will be without a mother." He looked behind Summer. "How old even are you, kid?"

"S-seven."

"Exactly. Seven year olds are a pest, Short Stack. No offense."

"Qrow, I couldn't leave her there, she had no home!" Summer ducked her head. "I didn't want to leave her there like Raven left Yang."

"And I love ya for caring. But we can't take her with us." Qrow sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry Summer. It's just too risky. We can call a social worker."

Summer reached into her arsenal for her most dangerous weapon. One that had seen her through many a battle within STRQ. One that she dared not use normally for fear of destroying the world with it.

Summer broke out the puppy-dog eyes.

"No, no!" Qrow's hand dashed in front of his eyes as he turned. "They don't work if I don't make eye contact!"

"I can wait, Qrow."

And wait she did, for five minutes, nearly stretching into ten before Qrow turned back, a low-set growl in his throat. "Fine. We'll keep the mint-haired-kid. Don't say I didn't warn you if and when this goes south."

She hugged him, smile growing. "Thanks Qrow." She turned back to Emerald. "You ready?"

A nod.

"Let's go meet your new sisters then." Reaching out a hand, Summer guided Emerald inside, Qrow following with a shake of his head.

* * *

 **OK, so I was going to at first write an Emerald/Weiss smut focused on their anniversary. But then this idea comes to my head- what if Summer didn't go on the mission that killed her and instead came across Emerald?**

 **I'm gonna continue this, I can see between three and five more little snips for it unless something goes haywire. But I am gonna write at least one of Emerald Sustrai/Branwen/Rose meeting Weiss.**

 **Hope you enjoyed. If ya did, comments are love and so on and so forth. But one quick omake for the road:**

* * *

Qrow frowned as he took in the mint-haired kid before him. "We really shouldn't take the kid," he drawled. "What if you die? You wanna scar three kids for life and leave them with no one responsible to take care of them?"

Summer scoffed. "Like I'm gonna die," she smirked.

 _Five years later_

Qrow stood in front of Summer's grave.

"I fucking warned you."


	2. Ain't No Man Behind The Curtain

_**Jewel Thief Turned Heart Thief Chapter 2**_

 **In which Emerald gets to meet her new 'sisters.'**

* * *

Once, Emerald had managed to sneak into a movie theater by slipping in with a group of schoolchildren. She hadn't a desire to see a movie- she just knew that kids loved throwing food, and no one would catch her in a darkened room. But she had still watched the movie, about a young woman winding up in a magical land and searching for a great wizard. Ultimately, the wizard had been a man behind a curtain who was just a master of illusion.

The image had stuck with Emerald after all these years. Sleight of hand was a skill she'd learned fast on the streets (alongside the best ways to burn money on a lien chip when you only had ten minutes before they cancelled the chip), so the idea of someone having such a mastery over perception was an inspiring one for the small child. Never mind that the wizard was ultimately a villain, literal beggars can't be choosers.

But now here she was in someone's house having been invited in, and she was just waiting for the curtain to rise and for the trick to be revealed. Surely, this wouldn't be real. No woman, no matter how kind they seem, just takes someone off the streets. No one was that kind, at least no one who had seen the world at large for the cruel, harsh monster that it was.

But despite the grumbling from the older man with eyes like hers, he had admitted defeat before the silver-eyed woman- Summer, she noted- and gone alone with her plan. Summer had done some quick measurements and was off to get some clothes for Emerald, while the man- Qrow- waved her in.

"You hungry?" He asked over his shoulder, tucking his scythe into an umbrella stand.

"I..." What kind of dumb question was that? Who the hell was ever _not_ hungry? Not anyone Emerald knew- you were lucky if you only went two or three days between a meal, and that was with as much mercy a small, starving child could muster. But she saw a look in his eyes after he said it- a phantom of old memories. Almost like... he knew what Emerald had gone through in the past.

"Take that as a yes," Qrow said dryly, moving past a living room and into a kitchen, grabbing an apple and tossing it to Emerald. "Well, knock yourself out. Me casa tu casa... not like I had a say in it."

Ah, there it was. She thought soul-crushing depression had been missing from her life for a little while. Qrow caught her face falling out of his peripheral vision.

"Shi- uh, kid, don't worry. I'm sorry, this whole..." he stammered for a second, "thing just came outta nowhere. I'm not trying to be a jackass kid, I just don't deal well with surprises."

"Does anyone?" She whispered.

"Heh. Summer does, but she's kinda weird like that. Everyone else? I'll let ya know." Qrow's scroll began to beep an alarm. "The kids're just done at school, I've gotta go pick 'em up. Listen, make yourself at home, I'll be right back and you can meet 'em. Unless you wanna come with?"

Emerald shook her head, and Qrow shrugged. "Shouldn't take too long."

Qrow left, the door locking behind him. Emerald found herself alone in the house, silent bar for the gentle hum of appliances. Finishing the apple (Eaten to the core, of course), she wandered, passing through the rooms aimlessly. A lot of pictures of Qrow and Summer, sometimes as part of a group of four with a blond man and another woman with dark hair and red eyes.

Lots of pictures of kids, too, particularly in the front landing. A blonde with lilac eyes about two years younger than her and a brunette with silver eyes four years her junior. Both looked happy. Innocent. Unbroken. She envied them, which caught her off-guard. She'd never envied rich kids before when she saw them out with their parents. She didn't have the energy, frankly.

That Summer wanted to drag her into this left Emerald deeply unsure. She found herself waiting for when the curtain would go up and the trick would be revealed. Those silver eyes would fill with the cruelty she expected, before the police were called to find a vagrant that had broken in while they were out.

It hadn't been the first time Emerald had allowed herself to hope.

But when the door opened, snapping Emerald out of her trance, she wasn't met with blue uniforms and harsh eyes, but rushing, vibrant colors and the joyous soft eyes of the children in the photos. Both streaks managed to run right past her in their dash for the kitchen. Emerald looked at Qrow, hand still partially outstretched from opening the door. He shrugged.

"Yeah, the're... like that. The blonde's Yang, the brunette's Ruby."

"They seem..." She trailed off.

"Normal?"

A nod.

"Yeah, they're good kids. Think you'll like 'em."

The blonde came back out, freezing as she took in Emerald. "Uncle Qrow, who's this?"

"This is Emerald. Aunt Summer found her while she was on the way to her mission and decided to give her a roof over her head."

Emerald waved. "Hi."

"Wait, I have a new cousin?"

Another shrug. "Yep."

"That's... awesome!" Yang's eyes widened as she sprinted back into the kitchen. "Rubes, you've got a new sister!"

"They're not sisters?" Emerald asked.

"Nah. Her dad's just out of town for a couple of days so we're looking after her."

Emerald's gaze went back to the picture of Qrow and Summer alongside the other two adults. Qrow tracked her eyes, tapping the blond man. "That's Tai, Yang's dad. He's kind of an idiot, but alright." Qrow's crimson eyes hardened as he took in the woman in red. "That's Raven. She's... complicated."

Emerald's question was cut off my a sudden pressure on her waist. She looked down at the younger sister- Ruby- who had her arms wrapped around her waist. Pure instinct kicked in and she gently tapped the girl's head.

"Uh..." What the hell was she supposed to say?

"You're good to hug! I like you! I'm Ruby, are you my new sister?"

Qrow chuckled softly. "Easy Petal, she's still getting used to all this." He gently pried Ruby off of Emerald, letting Emerald see Ruby's eyes. Silver, the exact same as her mother, and far too intelligent for someone so young.

"Hi," Emerald waved slightly.

"Do you like dogs? I love dogs! I keep wanting a dog but mommy and daddy keep saying I'm too young to look after a dog and I think that's nuts because I can look after myself just fine I mean _I drink milk!_ "

"Dogs are cool," Emerald mumbled.

Ruby nodded, face setting in stone. "She can stay, daddy! She likes dogs!"

"Good to hear. Up for a sandwich?"

"Yep!"

Ruby went back in the direction of where Yang was. Qrow looked at Emerald, still on the staircase. "Coming?"

A nod. "Yeah."

Yang was looking at Emerald as she came in. "So what'ya like to do, Emerald?"

Lockpicking, pickpocketing, hiding... what could Emerald say that was actually legal?

"Books," she eventually said. "I like books. I've learned a lot from them."

"Like?"

"Tying a knot." That book had been weird, probably put in the wrong place. Some of the pictures made Em feel funny when she looked at them, though a later glance at a biology book told her much of the positions had been anatomically impossible.

"Ohh, cool!" Yang leaned forward. "Can you show us?"

"I need some rope," she mused. A slight smile danced across her face.

"... Why are you all looking at me?" Qrow said flatly before being pinned to the chair by a laughing trio.

For the first time since arriving, Emerald stopped thinking of when the jig would be up as Ruby pulled some cables out of the closet. She stopped worrying about when this would all go wrong, and for the first time in her life, Emerald got to act like a child.

Summer came back an hour later to find Qrow tied to a chair, Yang praising the gods that "My new cousin can tie a knot!" while Emerald acted as a stepladder for Ruby to reach the cookie jar hidden on the top shelf.

Watching silently with a smile, Summer got a little feeling that things were going to turn out fine.

* * *

 **I know a couple of people might ask why Qrow was OK with leaving Em alone in the house, and my answer is simple: Patch is an island and the port's one of the only ways off said island. If Em stole the silverware, Qrow would find her before she stepped foot on a boat. It's also a simple enough test- leave someone alone in a house, see if they steal anything. He's going along with Summer's idea, but that doesn't mean he trusts Em yet. It's only after he sees how well she gets along with Ruby and Yang that he relents.**


	3. Fluffy Bundles of Mass Destriction

_**Jewel Thief Turned Heart Thief Chapter 3**_

 **RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth. I'm just too lazy to make my own characters.**

 **In which Emerald learns of some of the (many) issues that plague the Branwen-Rose clan.**

* * *

Emerald had been a part of the Branwen-Rose household for a month. Ruby took to her new sister like a fish to water, and was likely part of the reason why Emerald was able to feel comfortable. It seemed that the young five-year-old had a penchant for knowing when those dark thoughts would fester beneath Emerald's skin, making her wonder, despite all evidence to the contrary, when the show would be up. When Emerald would wake up in an alley reeking of rain and piss and the entire event would just be a figment of hope. But every time they began to flare up like pain from an old wound, Ruby would dart in and begin talking about anything and everything. Soon, Emerald would be caught up in her little sister (It alarmed her slightly how fast she took to seeing the young silver-eyed girl as a sister, but she ran with it), and the dark thoughts would be left behind as Emerald was swept up in the fun and games of Ruby Rose's life.

She'd never had anything like this before- relaxation and joy were commodities to be valued on the same level as clean socks, un-rotted fruit and a rafter which kept the rain off you. Domesticity was, in its own way, utopia for her. So she cherished it like a thirsty pilgrim in a desert craved water. Summer and Qrow were perplexed, if pleased, to have adopted a daughter who knew things Ruby and Yang were seemingly allergic to like... table manners. And cleaning up after oneself (The instances of Qrow waking up Summer with a mumbled curse as he tripped over a mug or cup left on the living room floor as he made his way to the coffee maker decreased drastically once Emerald moved in). Emerald, in short, took quickly to her new home, and it took quickly to her; books began to scatter across the surface of any table or shelf Emerald could reach. Music began to drift through the house sometimes when Emerald was reading- never anything too heavy like Qrow's blues or eccentric like Taiyang's pop (That the man could unironically dance to boy bands deeply disturbed Emerald and made her pity Yang), mostly film soundtracks, almost entirely instrumentals.

One of Emerald's greatest joys was, of all things, shopping. Not for anything in particular, just... having money felt nice after years of plotting around security cameras, hiding her face from clerks and instinctively using her Semblance whenever she walked by a window (She hadn't ditched that habit, sadly, judging by how the shopkeepers eyes would glaze over when they looked at her. She'd have to work at it). As such, she always tagged along with Summer, helping carry bags and pick up the ingredients Summer would need for Ruby's cookie diet.

One such trip saw them come back to an odd sight. A freak heatwave was hitting Patch, but despite all the windows being slung open when they left, everything was sealed up like a bank vault when they arrived.

"What's going on?" Emerald mumbled as she unlocked the door, eyes widening as she took in the hallway. It looked like a bomb had gone off, knocking off pots, tilting paintings and tracking mud along the floor.

Summer's fist clenched around the door. "Qrow." The calm statement carried through the house despite its low volume, the threat of exceptionally violent actions following in its wake. "You have ten seconds before I'm calling Tai and asking for help hiding a body-"

"Summer close the door!" Qrow dashed around the corner, pulling Summer and Emerald in before slamming the door closed. "We can't risk her getting out!"

"Getting out?"

Qrow chuckled manically, eyes darting along the ceiling. "OK, so you know how we thought Ruby had hay fever this morning?"

"I'm guessing by the state of the hallway that that wasn't the case," Summer replied flatly.

"Yeah, kinda. So I'm getting some hot chocolate for her when she starts sneezing, but after one, there's just silence. So I go up, worried she bumped her head or something, when I see-"

Qrow's eyes widened as he took off after a black and red streak that darted upstairs to the sound of intense peeping. "There, catch her! I don't even know how she's flying, it took me a month before I could!"

Emerald blinked, dazed as she stood beside Summer, who seemed to be mumbling to herself. "Raven and Qrow... hereditary shapeshifting... oh Qrow, you _son of a-_ "

She caught herself, looking at Emerald before sighing. "Don't freak out, but I think Ruby might have transformed into a bird."

"That's..." Emerald trailed off. "That's kind of nuts." She eventually said flatly. Honestly, when you made illusions, your resistance to insanity tended to be quite high. Especially when you practiced on yourself.

"Yeah," Summer drawled as Qrow leaned off the banister. "Qrow?" She called out.

"Yeah?"

"When were you going to tell me that my children had a chance of becoming birds?"

"I mean, I figured Yang would turn first and then I'd have a safety period-"

"So you didn't plan on telling me."

Qrow began to pale as Emerald imagined his life flashing before his eyes. Summer had taken her cloak off and was idly twirling one of her Knights (not yet loaded since Summer expressly forbade loaded weapons of any sort in the house- a Semblance of Misfortune taught one to be extra careful with gun control). "Uh, well-"

"Qrow, did it ever dawn on you to _let me know_ my children would have a chance of inheriting a Semblance of **turning into a bird?** Because that's usually the sort of thing you tell someone _before you knock them up!"_

"In my defense, it was a thing that began with my father! I didn't know if it would carry through my blood!" Qrow held up a quick hand. "On the bright side, this shouldn't be her Semblance, so Ruby's still got some tricks for us down the line?"

Summer didn't even dignify that sentence with a reply, just looking evenly at Qrow.

"I'm uh.. gonna go talk to Ruby." A fluttering of wings was the only sign of Qrow's departure as he took off after Ruby.

Emerald looked over at Summer, who was (if forcefully) calmly sliding her weapon back into its holster. "A word of advice, Emerald?"

"Sure."

"Don't date men. It's not worth the pain."

For Emerald's nine-year-old mind, this wasn't much of a problem at the time- dating was for old people or cool people like Summer and Qrow. But it wouldn't be much of a problem later on in life, at least.

They started packing away the goods they'd bought, interrupted by Qrow and Ruby walking down. Ruby was picking feathers out of her hair before leaping into Summer's arms.

"Mom, I can turn into a bird! I was flying around and..." she looked away. "I may have knocked some things over."

"It's fine, Ruby. What matters more is that you're OK."

"I'm great!" Ruby babbled on about her short experience as a bird and how Qrow calmed her down by becoming a bird himself, while Qrow nearly fell onto a chair in exhaustion.

His scroll began to ring. It took him a while (and a thrown apple from Emerald) before he answered. "Hey Tai," he rasped.

 _"Uh, Qrow, there's a bit of a problem with Yang?"_ He sounded out of breath, frenzied. In the background, Emerald could hear what sounded like shattered glass.

"Talk to me Tai."

 _"Uh, it's Yang."_

"Does she need a haircut?" All members of the family shivered at the prospect.

 _"No, thank God. She, uh... she just turned into a bird and is flying around the place- no Yang, come down from there! Can you come down? You know more about this stuff than I do!"_

Qrow sighed wearily, picking himself up. "I'll be fight there. Just keep the windows and doors closed so she can't break free. Last thing she needs is a sensory overload."

Emerald looked at Ruby and Summer. "This family's nuts," she mumbled to herself.

But damnit if it wasn't her family. They took her in, so she could deal with a little nuttiness like turning into a bird (so long as she didn't find bird seed on her clothes, otherwise Emerald would rapidly become an only child). They were her family and dealt with her craziness, so she could reciprocate.

* * *

 **I do think Yang is gonna pick up the bird thing if that gets revealed to be a hereditary ability in the Branwen bloodline.**

 **The whole idea of Ruby freaking out and her bird heritage is a little inspired by Ellelehman's comic "Petals and Feathers." You can read it on her Tumblr, but I can't link to it because Fanfiction dot net doesn't like HTML links. Just go read it for yourself, it's amazing and I love it.**

 **Before I go, have a little omake-thing scene:**

* * *

Qrow was starting to realize that Summer may have been serious about killing him.

"OK, so I forgot to mention the bird thing, I get that you're angry! But it just never came to mind- between Raven leaving, and Oz's missions, there just never was a good time!"

"I'm still going to shoot you," Summer said flatly.

Ruby darted by Qrow, perching on Summer's shoulder and beginning to let out little chirps. Qrow understood the basic intent that she was trying to save Qrow by pleading for him.

Well, the bird words for "spare" and "execute without mercy" were only a few syllables apart, so it could go either way honestly.

Summer's face softened as she took in the perched bird. "You are adorable," she murmured to the little bird.

"Is her adorableness making you reconsider on shooting me?"

Summer frowned, cocked her revolver. "That's low," she called out, taking aim.

Qrow hoped Tai still had a couch free as he dived out the window.


	4. Emerald Sustrai: Kitty Savior!

_**Jewel Thief Turned Heart Thief Chapter 4**_

 **I don't own RWBY. That's RT's thing.**

 **In which Emerald knows a thing or two about being left behind. She knows that she'll never let it happen to someone or something if she can help it.**

* * *

"Sorry Em," Ruby mumbled into Emerald's coat. They'd ventured into Patch's main town so Ruby could grab some new video game, but after one challenge about her skill at Pocket Slingers, Emerald had wound up playing mascot as Ruby wiped the floor with a bunch of punks in a tournament. Seeing her little seven-year-old sister light up like a Christmas tree had made Emerald's day, especially when she got the game she'd been saving up for for nearly three months as the prize for winning. She hadn't even used her Semblance. Much. OK, there was this one person, but otherwise she kept out of Ruby's business.

What had ruined Emerald's day was the torrential downpour awaiting them as they left, rain so heavy the bus lines had to be cancelled and the only road transport was to be people who lived on the afflicted roads. Qrow was still at Signal giving lectures, on the outskirts of town, but it was still going to be a long walk through the rain before they got there. And Emerald didn't bring an umbrella. She could have just snatched one and used her Semblance, but she was trying to set a good example for her little corvidae-aligned sister. So she drew up her coat, pulled Ruby in close, and began to march to Signal.

"It's fine Rubes. You can't predict the weather." Well, weathermen could. She could have checked the weather app on her scroll before leaving (She was still getting used to that, on top of the thousand other things that normal people took for granted), or heeded Summer's advice to bring an umbrella even when there wasn't a cloud in the sky. For defense, she'd said with that twinkle in her eye.

Emerald had scoffed at that. "If I ever meet someone who uses an umbrella as a weapon," she remembered saying, "I'll give you a thousand lien right after I kick their butt for such a dumb choice of weapon."

She'd give away _five_ thousand right now for that person with an umbrella, just so she could beat them up and use the damn thing to keep some rain out of her hair. She pressed her arms closer together, pulling Ruby a bit closer in the process. They were about ten minutes out at the moment, passing by some housing estate and gated communities.

Em felt a tug on her coat, turning to see Ruby pointing. "Em, look!"

Ruby had taken a rapt fascination with a cardboard box. Left outside in the rain for as long as it was, it had nearly disintegrated from the elements, barely hanging together as it was. "It's just a box Ruby."

"But I saw it move!"

Maybe a few rats, but Ruby was doing The Thing. Yang had been quick to warn Emerald of The Thing. At this close a range, Emerald didn't have time to look away before The Thing got right into her heart.

She sighed. "Fine, I'll check it out."

She walked over, poking at the box with her boot. It squelched obligingly, but listening close, Emerald had to concede that Ruby was on to something. The box did seem to move of its own accord at her prodding. Probably just a few rats, but she might as well make sure. She was already drenched anyway.

Flipping the lid on the box, Emerald froze. Ruby took in an excited breath beside her as she darted up to get under the coat again.

"Kitties!" She squealed. Three of them to be precise. Emerald didn't really know cats, but she figured the breed would be more easily found once they were wiped of the dirt and grime, but one appeared to be calico, one white and the third black. They were adorable, and Emerald spent a second ignoring the rain to let out a small squeak of joy (That she covered with her Semblance, she had an image to maintain).

Em soon put two and two together, noting the placement of the box. Ruby spoke first, though. "Do you think they were abandoned?"

"Yeah. The owners mustn't have been able to take care of them." The idea repulsed her even as she said it and she fought to hold back an unexpected snarl of anger. Surely the owners could have found a shelter or a neighbor to take the cats? Lazy monsters, the lot of them. Emerald had been treated as a castoff before. Seeing the cats in the box, rain pouring down, brought some bad memories to the forefront of her mind. Memories she'd not wish on anyone. Memories she'd not allow to be recreated by anyone if she could damn well help it.

Besides, cats were adorable and she always wanted one, especially after making eye contact with the little critters. Emerald wondered if all cats were capable of The Thing.

Ruby, in the meantime, was doing her best to shield the box from the rain with her small body. "We can't just leave them!"

"We're not," Emerald said resolutely. "I'll take the box Ruby. Start running for Signal, this box won't last much longer in the rain."

She hoped Qrow liked cats. Because she was keeping these damn cats if it killed her.

* * *

Summer sighed quietly as she took in the three cats milling about at her sodden feet. "Qrow."

"Yeah honey?" Qrow was still on the scroll, ordering all the things they'd need to look after cats. Damn him and his insatiable adoration of cats.

"Why is there a triplet of multi-colored cats sniffing at me?"

"I dunno, blame the kids."

Summer looked pointedly at Ruby and Emerald, still playing Ruby's new game. "We regret nothing," they both deadpanned.

"I'm pretty sure that one's giving me the evil eye," Summer muttered, nudging her head towards the white cat.

Qrow gasped. "Don't speak that way about Stella-Artois!"

"You named them?"

"We had time on the drive home," Ruby mumbled.

Summer sighed again. "I mean, look, if you two are sure about this, I just..." she trailed off. "It's a lot of _responsibility_ to look after a cat, and it's not a choice you can just make at random-"

Qrow held up a hand. "Summer, you literally _adopted a child_ without consulting me."

"OK, when you put it that way, I sound like a hypocrite-"

"Which you are if you're against this," Emerald added without looking away from the screen.

"And I'll admit that." A third sigh. "You're doing this even if I complain, aren't you?"

"Again, adopted a child without consulting me. A few cats is a lot less hassle than that. And besides, at least the cats will be honest in their hatred of us."

After checking to make sure Ruby wouldn't see, Em flipped Qrow off.

Summer chuckled despite herself. "Darn it, fine. But I get to name the black one, and you two had better pull your weight for this!"

Three cheers and some mild mewling met Summer's ears. "I'm surrounded by excitable children," she muttered into her palm. "And Emerald." Despite herself, she was smiling as she picked up the black cat. "Now what to name you?"

It swatted her nose.

"This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship," Summer proclaimed, ignoring the cut that was beginning to bleed. "For I shall name you Scabiosa!"

* * *

 **Personally, I'm more a dog person, but Tai's gonna get Zwei anyway. Also, I wrote this because cats came up in a Twitch chat and I pretty much wrote this in about two hours.**

 **Just in case it was missed, this is two years after Em gets adopted (There's a line where Em notes that Ruby's seven now, while I'm sure I've said already Ruby was five when Summer found Emerald).**

 **Hope ya liked it. Wanted to do something quick because I was going to be gone for the weekend of the 14th to the 16th due to a convention, but I wanted to write something before I left. So I feel this is a bit short, personally, but I'm just not used to writing small things.**

 **For disclosure, Stella came from Ellelehman's RL cat. She let me borrow the name, because Elle's an awesome person. Also for the record, Scabiosa is a type of white flower. I haven't thought of a third name, but I'll take suggestions.**

 **And now, an omake:**

* * *

"So this is your team," Emerald smirked as she took in team RWBY. "Gotta say sis, you certainly know how to pick 'em."

Especially that white-haired girl, rawr. But that was a subject for another day. At the moment, Blake and Yang were trying to decide who got which bunk.

"I sleep better in the bottom bunk," Yang was explaining, rubbing the back of her head.

Blake had her back to Emerald as she replied, but Emerald saw the way Yang stiffened.

"Is Blake doing The Thing?" Ruby muttered.

"I think she is," Emerald replied quietly.

Yang eventually relented. "But I guess I can go top bunk, partner!" Yang tossed a bag up there while Blake looked away, eyes still doing The Thing.

Emerald knew two species that had mastered use of The Thing as an art form. Ruby, and cats. Meaning that the only logical explanation for Blake's mastery of The Thing was...

"Oh my God, are you a Cat Faunus?" Ruby and Em blurted out at the same time.

Blake looked horrified, Weiss was surprised, while Yang snapped her fingers. "I knew that look reminded me of something!"

* * *

 **When one lives with a master of The Thing, one is predisposed to discovering those with a genetic predisposition to The Thing.**

 **Also, oh my God Em, you don't just go around asking people if they're a Faunus.**


	5. Static Wool Over The Eyes

_**Heart Thief Chapter 5**_

 **Emerald is far from the worst influence on Yang. But she's not the best by a wide margin, either.**

 **I made a mistake last chapter in saying Ruby was seven. I pegged her as three when Em first arrived and had Yang at five instead. So just mentally replace any references in the last chapter to Ruby being seven with her being five instead.**

* * *

Emerald took to school like a fish that had only ever lived in a tank suddenly being dropped into white water rapids. She understood the core idea of what she had to do, but had no idea how to go about it and thus floundered semi-helplessly. She got numbers, and Emerald's fast mind meant mental problems were no major challenge. Her issues came in the subject of languages. Emerald could string together numbers like it was going out of style, but her writing and grasp of the Vytalan language left a lot to be desired. Even Ruby was a better texter than her, which said little for Emerald's skill.

But these were things that could be improved. And she already had begun to improve, at least according to Ruby and Yang. The trio met outside the school gates everyday as they waited for Summer and Taiyang to pick them up. Ruby would ramble on at a mile a minute about her day, Yang would occasionally chip in with a quick quip at her cousin's expense, while Emerald simply enjoyed the company.

But they were late today. One of the two being late wasn't a common occurrence, but frequent enough that Emerald didn't have cause to worry. Both of them had almost never happened before in Emerald's memory. Summer and Tai had yet to arrive, leaving her to lean in her usual spot, looking for a flash of red or yellow.

It was fifteen minutes, each of which felt like ten minutes, before Emerald saw the streak of red. More red than expected, Ruby had been wearing white when she left for school this morning. Far too much red, along the bottom half of her face from a split lip that was beginning to bleed onto her collar. Emerald would have sworn there and then that her blood had been replaced with ice, the way it ran cold in her veins as Ruby dashed towards her.

Ruby ran into her. Emerald had her in a hug in seconds, eyes darting around where Ruby came from. "What happened?" She didn't have Summer's calm anger, which let her speak evenly while she fumed inside. Emerald was about five seconds away from murder.

"I… I'm sorry…"

Emerald pulled some tissues out of her bag, dabbing at the blood. Ruby's mumbled apology was cut off by a sharp hiss of pain as her lip was dabbed at. "You have nothing to apologise for. What happened, Ruby?"

"There…" Ruby sniffled, Emerald letting her collect herself before she continued, "some of the other kids found a frog and were poking at it with sticks and yelling at it… I couldn't let them do that, so I tried to get them to stop and then…"

And then kids were kids. People always seemed surprised to learn how cruel children could be without any supervision. "What happened then?"

"Yang saw them and tried to get them to leave me alone, but then they started going after her and she told me to run! So then I came here, and I'm sorry I didn't stay and I'm sorry for getting involved-"

" _Ruby_." Emerald didn't have Summer's font of patience or her tranquil fury when provoked. She didn't have Qrow's ability to keep his wit while enraged. She just had boundless rage and a desire to unleash it on the unsuspecting person who'd wronged her. "I'm gonna go help Yang. Can you clean yourself up and wait here for Tai and Summer?"

"Don't hurt them!" At Emerald's raised eyebrow, Ruby added "If you or Yang get expelled for this…"

"Don't worry Ruby." Emerald's teeth glinted as she grinned at Ruby, malice creeping into her eyes. "I'm not going to lay a finger on them."

* * *

They were around the back of the school, where prying eyes could be turned away. Yang was pinned to the wall by two of the thugs, her glare giving Emerald pause as she observed from a distance. Yang's normally lilac eyes were blazing scarlet, and while it could just have been a trick of the light, Emerald could have sworn that stands of Yang's hair were aflame.

She had never bothered to learn the kids' names, but one of them, a girl about a year younger than her, seemed to be the ringleader. Several spots of blood could be seen on the ground that led towards where Emerald was watching, but Yang didn't appear to be harmed.

The ringleader was clicking her tongue. "Now Yang, why'd you ruin our fun? We were just horsing around, not our fault your little cousin couldn't play with the big kids."

A wordless snarl slipped out of Yang's mouth. "She was on the ground you bully! And you were still hitting her!"

"She ruined our fun. So, we needed a new playmate and she was there. You might say she volunteered. And now she's gone because you told her to run, so here we are."

She spoke big, curling a strand of hair around her finger. Emerald had been in fights, but the odds weren't good. Five on two were never good odds, even if Yang was a walking tank. If she was going to get Yang out without both of them being beaten bloody, she'd need a good trick. Luckily, she had one hell of a good trick.

"Let her go. First warning," Emerald called out as she moved around the corner, locking eyes with the brunette ringleader.

"Em, get Ruby out of here-" Yang was cut off by a fist to the chest that drove the air from her lungs.

"Hello Emerald." A plastic smile for a plastic doll of a girl. "Don't mind Yang, there's nothing for you to worry about. Be a dear and run along."

Her family had money, Emerald dimly recalled. This kid was just like the ones in her old city, ones who loved to flaunt their money in front of kids like Emerald because it made them feel good. Bastards, the lot of them.

"You're gonna let my cousin go, and then you're going to scamper like the rats you are. Second warning." She began to concentrate, pulling up old memories and deeds she'd locked away. She couldn't make perfect illusions of her memories, but she could damn well recreate some of the highlights.

"Cousin?" A tilt to the head. "You're sure about that? I hear Yang has no mom at her house. Maybe she's too busy being Ruby's mom to live with your dad." A smirk played across that steadily-more-punchable face. "Or maybe she goes between them? Maybe sees both of them in the same night?"

Yang damn near set one of the kids on fire, and yeah- her hair was indeed ablaze now. "Say that again you _stuck up bit_ -"

"Yang." Emerald's voice rang out over the crackling of fire. "Let me handle this." She turned her gaze back to the leader. "Last chance. Walk away."

"Or what?"

Emerald grinned, bearing her teeth. It failed to reach her eyes, and Yang shivered for a second. "I'm so glad you asked."

She activated her Semblance, and that's when the screaming began.

* * *

"Holy crap," Yang muttered as they came to the school gates. "What did you show them? They ran like a dog after a bone."

"You don't wanna know." Emerald almost felt sorry for them as she began to bombard them with illusions, before the memory of Ruby's split lip drove her fury to a boiling point. When she regained herself, they'd run off screaming bloody murder, Yang being the only one still there.

Yang give Emerald a sideways glance. "Look, I don't know what you went through before Summer found you-"

"And you never will."

"But you can talk to us. You don't need to bottle everything up and then use it to terrify some bullies."

Emerald didn't reply for a minute. "I don't want to be trouble." She sounded calm, pensive. Yang recognised the behaviour. She'd taken her rage and carefully jarred it and set it on a shelf, in case she needed it later. Yang knew a few things about bottling up rage.

"Well we care. And we wanna help. Ideally before, you know, you mentally traumatise someone we actually like." Yang took a moment to chuckle, punching Em on the shoulder. "Man, I pity Ruby's ex boyfriends."

"Or girlfriends," Emerald mumbled as she rubbed her shoulder.

"Or girlfriends." Yang agreed.

"Or, I dunno, robots?"

Yang paused. "Can you even use your Semblance on robots?"

"Oh, sure Yang," In an instant, Emerald went from quietly walking to animated gestures fuelled by pure sarcasm, "I know the answer to that! Let me just trick this vending machine here into giving me free sodas! Of course I can use illusions on a machine!"

"... Can you?"

"My Semblance only works on living creatures with a brain," Emerald said dryly. "That's why I don't try on you."

Yang didn't help her case by taking nearly half a minute before the penny dropped. "Hey!"

They found Ruby at their usual spot, and she bounded over to them. "I was so worried! I thought you were gonna get hurt, or worse…"

"We're fine Rubes" Yang chuckled, pulling Ruby in for a hug. "Emerald came in, was really dramatic, and saved me like a hero."

"Really?" Ruby's eyes darted to Emerald's knuckles. Seeing no blood, she began beaming like a ray of sunshine. "You did it! You didn't get hurt!"

"Eh, no big deal."

"No big deal? Rubes, your big sis is holding out on ya! She got 'em all to run away screaming just by looking at them!"

Ruby's jaw dropped. "You're awesome!"

"I… guess I am." Emerald put her hands on her hips, smirking. "Hear that Yang? I'm awesome."

"Don't let it go to your head, I'm still the coolest kid in school."

"Shouldn't that be hottest? Considering how you were on fire back there."

"Wait, what?!" Ruby shrieked, prompting Yang to tell a frankly fictional retelling of the events that had just transpired. Emerald played along, backing up the crazier parts of the story and denying everything that actually happened. Had it not been for Ruby's split lip, one would never have thought they had just been in a fight. They laughed, screamed and ran around the gate like children, unburdened by the past and uncaring for the future, simply living in the present.

Perhaps an old man in a tower had a point when he once said victory lay in a simple soul.

* * *

 **For the record, if anyone's seen the smirk Yusuke in Persona 5 sports right after his awakening scene? That's Emerald for the second half of the chapter.**

 **But yeah, Emerald can be kinda scary. Just because she has a happy life doesn't mean she's moved on fully from the stuff she did to survive, or that she hasn't forgotten how to survive when the situation calls for it.**

 **Anyway, I was at a convention during the weekend from the 14** **th** **to the 16** **th** **. It was really good! What made the day was coming home and seeing the new Blazblue trailer. Persona. And RWBY. In the same game.**

 **I just wanna say it now, I was thinking of a Persona/RWBY crossover for months before this was announced. But yeah, I don't even like fighting games and I'll be getting the new Blazblue next year.**


	6. Eyes on the Range

_**Heart Thief Chapter 6**_

 **You know what the person capable of making people hallucinate needs? A gun. Let's give her a gun.**

 **I'm gonna make a small retcon and say that Summer and Em have been training since Em was about eight (It's a small retcon since I haven't explicitly said Em wasn't training).**

* * *

The shot was wide. By a margin of a hair, but it was still wide of the target.

Summer let out that sound from the bottom of her throat as Emerald lowered her arm- the disapproving hmm that Emerald had grown to detest today. "Try again." There was no anger or disappointment in the tone of the silver-eyed woman. Merely the expectation that the request- no, order- would be fulfilled.

Emerald obliged, raising her arm again and aiming down the sights, squashing the fatigue that threatened to make her aim shaky. The two of them had been out here most of the day, Summer taking care to again show Emerald the inner workings of a revolver before heading out to the range. Watching Summer dismantle her weapon and reassemble it in seconds was a hypnotic sight.

They'd been training now for about seven months. Much of the first three months was a mix of lectures regarding weapon safety ("You have Aura. People around you may not. So you should never have your finger on the trigger unless you're about to fire.") and management of her weapon. Things Ruby had the luxury of absorbing through just watching Qrow and Summer tinkering at their gear on the coffee table, a frequent occurrence even now, Emerald learned quickly. Within six months of near-daily training after Emerald expressed interest in becoming a Huntsman, Qrow and Summer had turned Emerald from someone who likely would have shot herself before hitting the target to being able to field strip a weapon in under two minutes.

Perhaps it was because of how Emerald saw Summer as a personification of what to aspire to be when she grew up, or maybe so Summer could teach a child similar to how Qrow was teaching Ruby, but Emerald wound up following Summer's example of choosing to make a revolver with blades attached her weapon when time came to begin training for it.

"Revolvers are good for a lot of reasons," Summer had said when Emerald had asked why she had chosen revolvers as her weapon, "you have a larger calibre of ammo, which means more stopping power, and they're a lot more simple to maintain; a revolver's not going to jam if take even the slightest care of it. You want a simple weapon, not something over the top and elaborate that can break if someone sneezes at it. If short, you don't want a scythe."

After that, Summer had handed Emerald a pair of ornate, silver revolvers. "I practiced with these when I was a kid," Summer muttered as she handed them over. "My father gave them to me when I got married."

Emerald was beginning to wish Summer's father had given her something like a tea set, or a table. Because either these weapons were broken, or she just wasn't a good shot (Not helping was how they were quite far from the target- so far that Summer had set up some device on her Scroll that let her track where the shots were landing). But she knew what Summer (or Qrow, or Ruby) would say if she noted it with minimal variation.

" _A good craftsman never blames his tools, Em. And you shouldn't blame shoddy aim on a well-maintained gun."_

"Nearly there," Summer said calmly, snapping Emerald out of her thoughts. "One more shot and we'll call it for today. Remember, inhale as you aim, fire right as you exhale."

Emerald took a few practice breaths, eyes closed, gun arm still outstretched (The wonders of Aura meant she could fire a high-calibre weapon and not need to worry about the recoil snapping her forearm). The red orbs snapped open, sighted down at the target that was taunting her though its existence on this earth, and she fired.

Bullseye. The simple act of the bullet landing in the centre of the target was oddly cathartic, and Emerald let out a genuine whoop of joy. "You saw that, right?!"

Summer was smiling as Emerald turned, eyes twinkling in the light. "Not bad, kid." The silver hardened in seconds. "One more bullseye, Emerald. Then we'll head home."

Emerald bit her tongue to hold back the groan. There'd be no arguing with Summer when she got like this; Qrow and Tai had both made jokes before about how Summer was a slave-driver when it came to training back during the STRQ days. Though judging by how all of STRQ was still alive and seen as living legends in the Huntsmen communities across Remnant, her training did have some merit.

But then a part of her snapped, and she wheeled on Summer. "You said that three shots ago! You want that bullseye?" Without thinking, Emerald turned on her heel, raising and firing both revolvers in one fluid motion.

Four eyes, two red and two silver, blinked in surprise at the two perfect smoking holes in the centre of the target.

Emerald panted as if she'd run a marathon. "There! Your bullseye! You happy now?"

Summer was sporting her little smirk that meant she was absolutely overjoyed. She commonly wore it right after tricking someone into doing something they otherwise wouldn't have done. "Good job." From most other people, that would be a lack-luster compliment, but Summer's strictness during training meant that every small bit of praise was earned.

Emerald felt a little betrayed at how Summer had worked her ragged just so she could provoke that reaction out of her. The thief within her was surprised at how well Summer had manipulated her into the mindset needed to land those shots.

The little girl that was Emerald, however, was quite hungry, as the rumble that sounded from her stomach indicated.

Summer tittered behind a hand brought to her mouth. "Sorry, I forgot how long we were here. Do you want to grab something on the way home?"

"Sure." Summer checked herself and Emerald out, and the two began to look for a space still open that they could grab a quick bite.

"So…" Summer trailed off as they examined a menu.

"So?"

"You seem set on the weapons, at least. Revolvers with retractable curved blades. But a weapon isn't yours until you've given it a name."

"I've been considering a few options. Could I ask you for your opinion on one?"

"Absolutely. This menu good for you?"

"I won't complain at this point."

Summer nodded and they walked in, snagging a table and ordering quickly. "So?"

"Well, I do illusions, so I went to the library after school one day and grabbed a dictionary. Then I looked up every word I could find that tied in with illusions and trickery."

Summer frowned slightly. "What, are you thinking of adding a smoke grenade to your arsenal? Putting it under the barrel will throw off your aim a lot."

"Actually…" Emerald looked away, a blush forming. "I did it because I thought it sounded cool," she mumbled.

Summer was silent for a minute. "Well, at least you're admitting to it. Some Huntsmen I know tried to pretend they had reasons for naming their weapons that were just really silly when they explained it. Take my former team-mate Raven, for example." Summer shuddered. "It took three years before we convinced her to change the name of her weapon. Worth every minute, though. We did Remnant a favour."

They trailed off after that before the food arrived. Emerald had learned a lot since moving in with the Branwen-Rose family. Table manners were not on that list. Thankfully, Summer wasn't much better.

"Anyway," Summer eventually said as the plates were carted off, "what've you got for weapon names?"

"Well, I started with Hex and Misdirection, but I think I like one in particular." Emerald ducked her gaze, fingers drumming unconsciously. "What do you think about Rhinestone Eyes?"

Summer let out a sound from the back of her throat. "That's a genuinely good name. I mean, I've heard adults give less good names when they have years to work on it. How long have you been sitting on that?"

Emerald's blush returned at the compliment. "I don't know, about a week and a half? Just something I did when I had spare time."

"Em, it's a great name. Take it from someone who just used their own name in their weapon, it's nothing to be ashamed about." Summer reached over and ruffled Emerald's hair, ignoring the indignant squawk. "I'm proud of you kid."

"Thanks mom," Emerald muttered with a hint of sarcasm. Her eyes widened slightly.

Summer withdrew her hand. "Think that's the first time you've called me that." It had been a year, and part of Summer had just figured that her and Emerald would be one of those groups that never used the 'M' word. She beamed at Emerald. "Suits you."

"Um, thanks?"

Summer put some lien on the table. "No problem. Let's head home- you've still got a lot of training to do before you're caught up, but I'll make a sharpshooter out of you yet. I taught Qrow how to dance, this'll be easy."

Emerald groaned good-naturedly as she followed Summer home. As it turned out, Summer wasn't joking: By the end of the year, Emerald had already improved leaps and bounds. In her adulthood, she even competed in a few shooting competitions. She got asked several times where she got her skill from, and her answer was always the same.

"My mother was one hell of a teacher."

* * *

 **I feel like the ending could flow a little better. But hey, it's done.**

 **So in advance, I conceived of Summer's weapons a good six or so months before the idea of Heart Thief came to me. They in fact showed up in one of my RWBY Art Challenge fics. So naturally, when I realized what Emerald's weapons were, I had to work it in that Summer trained her.**

 **I'd like to thank my friend MorganSheepman for coming up with Rhinestone Eyes. I was toying with names for Emerald's weapons before he came up with the idea. So kudos to you, Morgan. For those wondering, rhinestone is a fake diamond that can, indeed, be red.**

 **Hope you enjoyed.**


	7. Confess And Wipe the Slate Clean

_**Heart Thief Chapter 7**_

 **This took a bit longer to write than expected. Sorry about that.**

* * *

Qrow, Taiyang and Summer had a loose schedule between the three of them when it came to looking after the children and getting out and doing Huntsmen duties. There was always two of the three on Patch, largely because of Qrow and Taiyang's commitments at Signal keeping the two close to home. During the semester breaks (Or when they were able to get away with pulling a sick day) the two would vanish and Summer would bring the three girls together under one roof while half of STRQ were gone.

On this occasion, Summer was gone and Ruby was off doing whatever nine year olds do at sleepovers (though given Ruby's circle of friends that she had gathered at the tender age of nine, Emerald supposed it wouldn't be too insane if Ruby and her nerdy friends were out building a giant robot). Yang and Tai were in the Xiao-Long household, leaving Qrow and Emerald in for the night. Emerald hadn't been waiting for this, so much as just that it would be convenient to have this conversation now and with Qrow.

Qrow and Summer had converted their basement into an impromptu workshop, which is where Emerald found Qrow hunched over his scythe, sparks skidding around him as he ran a whetstone over the curved blade. Emerald tried the multiple methods she had gathered of trying to attract someone's attention in here- coughing politely, ringing the bell she'd had installed out of exasperation, shouting into the megaphone she'd later bought out of further annoyance- before finally using her Semblance to make the whetstone and scythe disappear.

Qrow stiffened. "Hey, Em."

"Hey. Are you free?"

"For you? Heh, always." Qrow began to lock away his tools, retracting the scythe blade before coming over to Emerald, ruffling her hair. "So how can I help you?"

Taking Qrow's hand, Emerald led him up to the living room, sitting him down on the couch. "I need to say something."

Qrow snapped his fingers dramatically. "So you _did_ spike Stella's bowl with my flask!"

"I told you already that I saw mom taking a swig out of it!"

Qrow chuckled at the indignant expression on Emerald's face before leaning back. "Alright, I've had my fun. What ya need to say?"

Emerald fidgeted under Qrow's gaze, his mind recalling a time not even six years ago where the kid barely spoke and shied away from even eye contact. "I've been thinking- shut up, I know all the jokes you can make about that sentence-" Emerald shot Qrow a glare as he defensively held up his hands with a smirk. "Qrow… dad… I think I'm gay."

"Huh." Qrow sat back, resting an arm over the back of the couch. "Well, good for you kid. Figured something like this would come up after Yang."

Yang had wound up figuring out she was bisexual the month prior, telling much of the family over texts one night. When Emerald had gotten a chance to talk to her, Yang had been quite casual about it.

"I look at boys and think I like them," the blonde had said over a bag of fries laden with pickles, the night sky twinkling overhead, "but then I look at girls and like them too. So I guess I like them both."

The casualness of the announcement got Emerald to begin thinking, leading to her spending the next several trips to Patch engaging in people watching. She'd tried to justify it as a sort of experiment, like when she tested her Semblance on herself, but ultimately, she had to call a spade a spade and admit to herself she was people watching. Even with the acknowledgement that puberty may have yet to begin, Emerald felt… nothing, looking at boys. She could acknowledge that some boys were pretty, but it was like admiring artwork through a scroll. There was no emotional resonance.

But when she looked at some of the other girls around her age, she felt… different. Like butterflies were flapping in her chest, and these thoughts came unbidden to her mind. Those pictures in that book she'd once found in the library suddenly made a lot more sense to her and inspired very odd feelings in her stomach that were a counter-argument to Emerald being a late bloomer.

"But whatever," Qrow shrugged, snapping Emerald out of her thoughts. "You're you, and anyone who has a problem with it? Well, you'll likely kick their ass before I even hear about it, but I'll back ya up. Summer will too, same for Tai and Yang. And Ruby will, once she can hold her scythe without tipping over."

Emerald chuckled, scooting over and resting her head against Qrow's chest. "Thanks dad," she mumbled into Qrow's shirt.

"Any time, kiddo." Qrow rubbed Emerald's hair again, the two lapsing into a comfortable silence.

Had someone told Qrow six years ago that he'd have grown to care for the red-eyed girl he was sitting with at that moment, he likely would have rejected the idea. Qrow had been convinced that Summer's little experiment would end with the kid finding a home in the foster system… ideally far away from here. He simply didn't like the idea of an unknown person being in the same home as Ruby.

And, if he was being honest, the less people he dragged into the negative spiral that was his Semblance, the better. Qrow had enough heart attacks whenever Summer, Yang or Tai (and, to a lesser extent, Raven. He'd probably be sad if his Semblance killed her. _Probably_.) narrowly dodged the effects of his Semblance. And whenever Ruby was around fragile goods, Qrow could practically feel his life expectancy shortening. Dragging another kid into the walking disaster area of his life seemed like a bad idea.

But then Emerald grew on him. She took good care of Ruby when Qrow and Summer were out, the silver-eyed girl dragging Emerald out from behind the wall she'd build up. Perhaps even more so than Summer's matronly nature, Ruby was an instrumental part in Emerald embracing her new home. She didn't treat the orphan like fragile goods, or look at her differently. When Ruby looked at Emerald, she had never seen an outlier in the Branwen-Rose clan. She had simply seen Emerald, her sister. And perhaps that was what welcomed Emerald; being treated just like everyone else, and not separately.

Emerald stirred against Qrow's chest, and he looked down on his kid. "You wanna watch a movie?"

"Sure," came the mumbled reply.

"I'll grab the snacks, you pick the film?"

Emerald nodded, getting up and popping the joints in her arms as she hooked her scroll to the TV and went looking for a film. Qrow similarly stretched, padding into the kitchen and prepping the microwave as he tossed a bag of popcorn in. He leaned against the counter, a smile coming to his face as he watched Emerald cycle through choices.

"You coming?" Emerald called from inside. The microwave popped, Qrow reaching in and taking out the steaming popcorn and pouring it into a bowl. Dimming the lights, Qrow sat beside Emerald as the film began.

"You OK?" Qrow mumbled to Emerald as the credits wrapped up, both suppressing yawns.

"… yeah." She smiled at Qrow, red eyes twinkling in the light. "Yeah, I'm good."

* * *

 **Again, sorry this took longer than expected. Had a few ideas that didn't pan out into full chapters. On the bright side, I do have an idea for a short arc after we hit chapter 10.**

 **As usual, my need to show my big words also bits me in the ass since I keep forgetting my protagonists are children who didn't read dictionaries for fun. So if Emerald's narration seems a bit wordy, sorry.**

 **Hope you liked it. I have already said this story had Emerald/Weiss as an endgame, so something along this line was inevitable.**


	8. Fortune Bumps in the Night

_**Heart Thief Chapter 8**_

 **It only took seven chapters, but finally, I'm doing a chapter where Emerald doesn't appear. There's a reason for it.**

 **This takes place about four years after Summer found Emerald. So she's eleven, Yang's nine and Ruby's seven.**

 **In which Summer receives an unwelcome visitor.**

* * *

Summer's eyes opened as she felt, more than heard, a disturbance on the wind. She'd always been a light sleeper, a trait she'd just never lost over the years. Recently, it had been because of the need to be awake in case any of the kids required attention in the dead of night.

But her instincts had been honed as a child for different reasons. Her parents had told her from a young age that her eyes would bring great relief to the world, like a candle in the dark. But there would always be someone who would try to snuff that candle, so being prepared was key.

That was why Summer was wide awake, on her feet and fully able to glare at the woman with red eyes who unceremoniously walked into her living room through a portal.

"Hello, Summer." And said bitch had the _gall_ to sound pleased as she took in Summer and the living room.

"Raven." Summer said calmly. "What do you want?"

Raven let out a bemused breath. "A girl can't pay her family a surprise visit?"

"She can." Summer's voice was low and cold enough to freeze a river. "But you don't fit the criteria of being either a girl or having a family here. You burned those bridges yourself."

"I think you shooting me in the liver was what convinced me to not come back to Patch."

"You still have one spare. I can go two for two if you're desperate."

"Save the threats." Raven looked around, taking in the walls lined with photos of STRQ and the Patch clan. "Where's Qrow?"

"In town, with Tai and the girls."

"Hmm." Raven nodded. "I need a scroll number," she said with no further preamble.

"Wow," Summer chuckled. "Seven years without hearing from you barring Qrow getting occasional messages from burner scrolls and you just waltz in asking for a favour? Let's say I help you. Who do you need to contact that's so important you ask me of all people?"

"Ozpin."

Summer's breath hitched in her throat. "And what would Ozpin have for you?"

"That's personal. I need to talk to him, or my family is at risk."

Summer began to raise an eyebrow, only for Raven to cut her off. "My _real_ family. The tribe you led Qrow astray from."

"Qrow was always going to leave. Your 'family' is nothing but cutthroats. Oz would happily leave you to burn yourselves out."

"Not if we had a Maiden."

Summer fell silent, eyes widening a margin. "You-"

"Yes. Last week. The powers chose at random, and they chose a strong woman. She'll go far with those abilities, if she can learn to contain them. _If_."

Silence filled the room. Summer had never met a Maiden personally, but she and Qrow had been inducted into Ozpin's cabal of protectors for the Maidens soon after graduation. Ozpin had been quick to warn the two Huntsman of the unchecked power of a Maiden if they failed to receive the proper training needed to control the abilities.

Of all the people who could get a Maiden, only Salem and her forces were worse than Raven's tribe. Summer had had run-ins with the group in the past, bad memories from her time in STRQ that were better left buried. Ruthless, devoid of empathy and possessing only enough emotion to be proud of their barbarism. Raven could blame Summer for making Qrow walk away from that tribe, but their own actions would have made him walk away regardless.

"So, you want Ozpin to take her in and help her master her abilities," Summer finally said. "But see now I'm wondering. Do you genuinely want to protect that poor girl, or do you just want a new weapon in your arsenal so you can add power to the tribe?"

"I can't say both?"

"You could," Summer said flatly, "but I'd call you a liar because you've proven with Yang that protecting young girls isn't something you do."

Raven sighed quietly. "I had my reasons for leaving them, and I did what I had to do. If the tribe learned that I'd had a child, they'd have forced me to bring her back with me. Would you have wished what happened to Qrow and I on Yang? At least she has a childhood, and a father who loves her."

Summer had went looking for Raven soon after she left, tracking her down to Menagerie. They'd had words about why Raven had left, and while Summer would sooner swallow a knife than admit it, she could see where Raven was coming from when the bandit had explained her departure.

"Maybe," she muttered. "Let me ask you again Raven. Do you want to protect that Maiden, or are you only here so you can hone her into a weapon?"

Raven made eye contact, red eyes shimmering in the low light. "She never asked for this. She's strong, doesn't deserve the pain that this is bringing on her and the tribe. I seek only to help her, but I will not say no if she wishes to join me in the field."

Summer sighed, hesitating before grabbing a strip of paper and writing down a number, folding it and passing it to Raven. "Oz's personal scroll number." As Raven reached for it, Summer's other hand darted out, grabbing Raven by the wrist. "Don't make me regret this, Raven."

"Our choices are our own, Summer. Like your choice involving a girl with red eyes." Raven tugged her arm free, tucking the note away. "Thank you, Summer. Sincerely. I owe you for this."

"I'll keep it in mind," Summer muttered as Raven drew her sword, a portal forming in front of her. "Raven?"

The bandit stopped, looked over her shoulder.

"Stay alive out there." The words were awkward on her tongue; Summer was never good with goodbyes, and was never quite sure what to say each time to Raven. Generic platitudes worked well enough, and kept the topic away from where heated debates involving Yang and Taiyang would arise. It also kept them from drawing their weapons, at least.

Raven nodded. "Give my best to Qrow," were the last words out of her mouth before she walked through the portal, the red tear in space fading after her.

* * *

 **Raven, Raven, Raven. What a fascinating character you are, for someone with only two canonical appearances.**

 **I suppose it's safe to say this is more of a setup chapter than anything. The Spring Maiden plot will come up again down the line, but the big reason for this chapter was setting up Summer and Raven's relationship. There was originally going to be a flashback to Summer and Raven's confrontation where Raven explained herself, but I cut it both because it was getting too long and because I'll probably make it its own chapter.**

 **Sorry if this wasn't the bundle of fluff you were looking for. Or if it wasn't well-written, I'm never sure if these are good. But again, I need to establish some things that will matter down the line.**

 **Here's a short little omake, not a lot of depth to it but the joke was there so I made it.**

* * *

"Don't bullshit me Rae," Summer snarled, "you'll use the Maiden like a weapon until Salem does the world a favour and wipes you and her off the face of the earth." She laughed bitterly. "I'm not surprised, honestly. You always were a control freak back in Beacon."

Raven hesitated. "... You know," she finally said flatly, "if anyone in this room should be bitter at the other regarding family issues, it really should be me given you fucked my brother while shaming Tai and I for our relationship."

"And yet that didn't stop you that night we got wasted and woke up legally married in Menagerie."

* * *

 _ ***Shrugs***_ **I mean, she's not** _ **wrong**_ **, Summer…**


	9. Curl and let our love out-shine the sun

_**Heart Thief Chapter 9**_

 **This story has no set timeline. So rather than do another short set in the Branwen-Rose-Sustrai clan's childhood, I'm allowing myself to jump ahead a good few years for this one. Emerald's twenty-one, Yang's nineteen, and Ruby's seventeen in a Nothing Bad Ever Happened AU.**

 **I made a bit of a fuck-up last chapter with Summer shooting Raven. As it turns out, people only have one liver. I meant to say that Summer shot Raven in the kidneys. My bad.**

 **Also, I figured I should probably write some Snowflake in the Rough soon given this is tagged as such.**

* * *

Weiss wasn't much of a light sleeper. The joys of alarm clocks, she supposed. She was always able to get up when roused, so long as she ensured that she had a healthy amount of sleep before-hand. After three years of coping with the rest of her team, she had a sleep cycle down and mastered.

When Emerald began violently shaking her out of said sleep, Weiss was not quite ready to wake up at… one in the morning.

"Emerald," Weiss said in a tired mixture of a growl and a groan, "It is one in the morning. Why are you getting me up?"

"Weiss, please, get up," came the semi-frenzied whisper from the green-haired girl.

"Why?"

"Trust me, you'll love it." Seeming to take Weiss not moving as an agreement, Emerald reached under and pulled Weiss into a bridal carry. The rest of RWBY woke up suddenly to Weiss's indignant cries and howls for vengeance against her girlfriend, before shrugging and going back to sleep.

By the time Emerald had navigated into the living room, Weiss's tantrum had simmered into a quiet fuming, arms crossed petulantly. Even still, she was able to admire that Emerald had acquired much in the way of sugary treats, with several bowls of marshmallows scattered around the area of the couch. A plush salamander, worn in places from age, had a place of honor on the top of the couch. Weiss was placed underneath the salamander, a blanket draped over her.

"Be right back, left the hot chocolate on!" Was what Weiss picked up as Emerald made for the kitchen. Weiss turned her focus to the TV, Emerald's scroll plugged in and awaiting a command.

"How long have you been here?" Weiss said.

"Master thief, honey. I can crack any lock."

Weiss gave Emerald her Look as she came back in with two steaming cups. Unlike Ruby's Look, it wasn't endearing, instead manifesting as a power to make people tell the truth through a simple glare and raw, unrefined 'I call bullshit.'

Emerald paused. "… Ruby gave me your door code," she mumbled, passing one of the cups over. Weiss clutched the cup close, blowing on the top as Emerald squeezed in, placing the salamander on her shoulder as she pressed in close to Weiss.

Weiss looked at the salamander perched on Emerald's shoulder. "Nice pet."

"Her name is Rudy. Ruby had some teeth problems when she was four, so Yang and I got a kick out of her saying her name like that. I got this around that time from a claw machine, so the name stuck."

"That's an elaborate explanation for a toy name," Weiss deadpanned.

"Well, at least Rudy has a reason for her name. King Salaman is just… there, in my room." Emerald shook her head softly. "I don't even know where I got him. But he goes where Rudy goes, and Rudy's always with me."

"Hmm." Weiss flicked her gaze from the plush toy to Emerald's face, sharing a soft smile as the red-eyed girl reminisced for a moment. "So then, what are we watching with this... admirable collection of candy?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Emerald pressed a button on the remote beside her and the TV flared to life, a gaudy advertisement meeting them. "You ever have that weekend cartoon you watched every week that never left your brain? I found a channel that marathons nothing but those shows!"

"Can't say I did," Weiss lied convincingly, "but I'm guessing I'm about to become acquainted with one such cartoon?"

"Acquainted?" Emerald snorted. "Weiss, I used to breathe this show. I can go get Yang or Rubes to confirm-"

"I'll take your word for it." Weiss didn't wish to cause divisions between herself and half her team by accidentally having them dragged out of bed in the young hours of the morning. It made for awkward conversation at the breakfast table.

Emerald shrugged, and the show started up soon after. Weiss instinctively held back the urge to scream when she saw the show's name.

 _Sailor Shattered Moon._ One of the worst shows ever committed to DustTV, the show was a smash hit merchandise wise even as the critics savaged it like a Huntsman ripping and tearing through Grimm. But Weiss was open-minded, or at least tried to be. She had never seen this… show… herself before, and maybe she would like it?

She didn't. At the end of the first episode, she chalked it up to the show trying to find its feet; not all shows hit their stride after the first episode, right? By the end of the fifth episode, she had to agree with the critics that this was quite a bad show. After the tenth episode, she was sure Emerald was deliberately screwing with her.

But as Weiss turned to ask Emerald point-blank if this was a joke, she saw Emerald acting like a, well, a child. She was completely hooked, Rudy still holding position on her arm despite how animated Emerald got with the fight scenes. Weiss had to grab some tissues for her during the emotional scenes (And not just because she was also crying at the show). While the show itself was sub-par, Weiss found herself enjoying it through Emerald's enjoyment. She was on a nostalgia high and Weiss was enjoying the waves of it radiating from her girlfriend.

Several hours in, as the marathon came to a close and the sun began to gentle peak over the horizon, the two were curled up on the couch with the blanket over them, the show still playing in the background. "I have to clean up," Emerald mumbled, both fighting to stay awake a little longer.

"It can wait." Weiss tilted her head, kissing Emerald. "Thank you for this, my love."

A raspy chuckle filled Weiss's ears. "I still think that name is pretentious as all hell."

"I'll stop when you give me a better pet-name than Princess. Anyone could make that one."

"Challenge accepted, when I'm not sleep deprived." Weiss drifted off soon after, Emerald's breath warm against the back of her neck.

Emerald and Weiss would wake up to Ruby and Yang taking pictures of the sleeping pair with their scrolls, cooing and making squealing sounds the entire time. Despite doing their best to destroy the photos (Emerald had a reputation to uphold), the massive wave of emoticons she got in her next message from Summer seemed to indicate that they had passed along the pictures.

Both of them kept their own copies of the 'sleeping beauties' as Yang had coined the pictures, and had them as their home screens on their scrolls. Weiss only changed hers after she took a picture of them at the frozen waterfalls of Atlas. Emerald only changed it after she got a picture of Weiss, herself and her new family during a trip to Patch.

* * *

 **Like I said above, I figured I should get around to doing Em and Weiss more given they're the main pairing.**

 **Next chapter's when that arc I've been teasing for a while starts. The not fun one. So I decided to have one particularly fluffy chapter before then.**

 **Have an omake completely unrelated to all that, too, inspired by a classic scene from Community. In advance? This is a bit NSFW:**

* * *

RWBY, JNPR and Emerald sat around a table, Emerald at the top. She looked at each of them in turn.

"OK, so all of you are in the merchant quarter of the city, trying to negotiate a price for some horses so you can get out of town soon. A fair elf maiden by the name of Amber has arrived to handle prices."

Weiss held up a hand. "I've got this." Her pitch shifted slightly. "Hi, I'm Blanc the Well-Endowed. I hear you have the best horses in the city."

"We do."

"Would those include Pegasi, perchance? We'd be in the market for a deal."

"It might. What kind of deal?"

Weiss considered her options, hand on her chin. "I take the elf maiden's arm and drag her into the stables," Weiss said pointedly, as the rest of the team blinked in surprise. "When we get there, I light a candle and tear a piece of my tunic off, turning it into a blindfold."

"Oh Blanc, I don't know if I can-"

"Shhhh." Weiss held a finger to her lips, ignoring the increasingly confused expressions she was getting from the rest of the table. "I place it gently over Amber's eyes. And then I slowly…"

The expressions of everyone at the table who was not Weiss or Emerald (And Ruby, who was taking so many notes she had to write on the back of her notepad) rapidly shifted to horror as Weiss began to use phrasing like "I slowly lay her down on the floor," "I cup her left breast." "I get three- no, four fingers in!"

Pyrrha at one point had to leave to go scream on the balcony for a moment. Yang and Ren were rooted to their seats, staring in slack-jawed horror.

As Weiss was saying "my huge member," pushing her hands out to emphasize, Nora could be heard muttering "God is dead and we killed him."

Emerald, to her credit, ran with the scene, eventually ending it with an exhalation of air, hands above her miming being bound. "OK," she eventually said, tapping Jaune on the back as he tried to not throw up, "you fall into a bay of hale, exhausted but still intertwined."

"Great!" Weiss flashed an eerily happy grin at Emerald. "I stroke her hair lovingly and spoon her for the appropriate time before leaving."

"How long is that?" Everyone turned to Ruby, still writing along her arm.

* * *

 **I desperately want to a D &D AU in the future. So this is me getting to do that for now.**

 **Also, I'm contractually obliged to have Amber show up in all my stories. I don't make the rules.**


	10. Shattered Gems, Part 1

_**Heart Thief Chapter 10**_

 **This was a pain to write, wound up scrapping a lot of content because it wasn't flowing right.**

 **Regardless, hope you enjoy. Usual stuff goes here- I ain't RT, I don't own RWBY.**

 **This is a few months after chapter 8, so Emerald's eleven, Yang's nine, Ruby's seven.**

 **In which Summer and Qrow meet an old friend, while the past has consequences on others around them.**

* * *

Sharp eyes let one see much from Ozpin's office in the CCT. Beacon stretched out directly underneath, while Vale glittered like a gem in the distance. Signal stood proud off in the horizon, the school standing strong and tall alongside Beacon. Summer had seen this view before several times, and it always brought forth memories. She could actually spy some landmarks from the window; there was the tree she and Qrow had shared their first kiss as an open couple, the dorm tower where so many STRQ Shenanigans had ensued, and there was the rooftop where-

Well, that was a private memory, she mused as a blush ran up her neck. Stupid exhibitionist tendencies.

A quiet cough from behind brought her back into the present; Ozpin stepped out of the elevator, a warm smile on his face alongside the warm cup of coffee in his hands. The cup was set on the table as the timeless man who still looked the same as when Summer had been flung into the Emerald Forest took Summer into a hug.

"It's been too long, Summer," Ozpin said as he pulled back before moving over to Qrow. "it's always good to see you two doing well."

"Likewise, Oz," Summer smiled. "Glynda's looking well."

"A managerial position does suit her. And it saves me a fortune on Huntsmen related repair bills."

"Oh, we'd know nothing about adding to that pile." Qrow remarked drily as the three sat around the desk. "But I'm guessing you called us in for more than just a trip down memory lane."

"Indeed." Ozpin leaned forward, clasping his hands. "Qrow, you're aware of Summer's contact with Raven some months back, correct?"

"Yeah, she told me." Qrow crossed his arms. "She put Raven in touch with you so she could keep the new Spring Maiden from going nova."

"I've been keeping in touch with Raven since our meeting. Passing along status reports, sharing relevant information and so on. One of those pieces of information was of a large sum of lien being deposited into a private account in Vacuo. This account seems to have been used in the past as a form of dead drop for an assassin who goes by the name of Marcus Black."

A collective shiver ran in the room. Marcus Black had a reputation as a fearless assassin and bounty hunter. Urban legend once stated that he was once able to assassinate the principal of Shade Academy while the man was giving a lecture to three hundred people.

"If Raven's passing along that information, she might think it means Salem's expanding," Summer noted. "and if Salem's looking into hiring someone like Marcus Black…"

"It spells dire events in the future for us." Ozpin took a sip from his cup. "It may be simple misinformation, but I thought it best to inform you in advance. In a way, I am glad fate chose that particular woman to grant the powers of Spring. Raven truly seems to care for the young Maiden."

Qrow scoffed. "So, my sister finally grew a heart, huh? Guess it only took thirty years."

Summer shot him a glance.

"Be that as it may," Ozpin interceded, "Raven is helping Spring control her powers. I believe that she'll be suitable as a guardian for the maiden, at least for the foreseeable future. Now, moving on. Qrow, any progress on your end?"

Qrow let out a non-committed sound before unfolding his arms. "My contacts in Vacuo and Menagerie got back from their expeditions. Nothing new worth noting. Atlas has been quiet, largely because Jimmy keeps arresting my contacts whenever they go undercover. As for the Queen, all quiet on that front, too. Which usually means she's planning something and we're gonna get caught with our pants down. No signs yet on anyone exhibiting Winter's powers."

"Keep your eyes open. It's been a month now since the last Winter Maiden died, we'll need to find the new one soon before the Grimm hone in on her. Summer, when we find her…"

"You want me to the be Guardian?"

"I understand the comforts of the family life, but you're one of the best Huntresses I've ever trained. If anyone could protect a Maiden from a bandit, a Grimm, or worse, one of her agents, it would be you or Qrow. And he's already busy with his circle of agents."

"Won't be easy, leaving the girls for a while," Summer admitted, "but this matters just as much."

"It would only be for as long as it took to get them to one of the Academies. We could take it from there."

"Maybe," Summer muttered, nodding. "If you find Winter and I'm the best candidate for the guardian, I'll be on the next flight to wherever I need to go, you know that."

"Speaking of the children, how are they doing?"

"Wonderfully." A smile began to cross Summer's face. "We got a room at the Four Seasons for the night, so they're probably blowing my salary on room service right now."

"So long as they don't touch the minibar, we'll be fine," Qrow muttered.

* * *

Four Season Hotel, Vale:

"You sure you don't need help?"

"No, I've… got this! Just, let me…" More sheets fell on Ruby, the silver-eyed girl yelping in surprise.

A movie hummed along softly in the background. Emerald was more focused on trying not to laugh as Ruby only made her situation worse. Ruby finally calmed down, seeming to accept her new fate and imprisonment among the bedsheets.

"Well," Emerald said casually as she twirled the remote between her fingers, "if you can't break free then I'll have to eat those strawberries and cookies all by myself…"

A low vibration began to rock the bed. Emerald paled. "Ruby, wait, don't use your-"

A tearing sound filled the air as Ruby sped through the sheets, slamming into Emerald and knocking the two off the bed.

"Ta da!" Ruby cried out.

Emerald groaned softly, rubbing her back. "Ruby the Great, ladies and gentlemen. She's here until Thursday." She fixed Ruby with a look. "And yet here I am, giving you more sugar and cookies. Why do I do this to myself?"

"Because you love me and are blind to the consequences of your actions?"

Emerald paused. "Yeah, that's probably why." A rap on the door caught their attention. "I'll get that. You fix the bed up. If it's mom and dad, you're taking responsibility."

"Who threw the sheets on me in the first place?" Ruby muttered as Emerald got up, ignoring that Ruby had gotten tangled up of her own volition.

Emerald opened the door to a catering cart, held by a _very_ tall man dressed in the staff uniform alongside a red jacket. A cap was pulled low, working alongside tinted shades to cover the eyes.

"Branwen-Rose room?" A flat monotone of a voice.

Emerald nodded. "Yep."

The waiter poked his head in with the card, seeing Ruby innocently sitting on the bed. "I have a portion here for a family of four. Are your parents not in?"

Emerald shrugged. "They'll be back in a minute. Just left for some groceries."

He nodded. "Well, let's make this quick then."

As the waiter moved the cart to the bottom of the bed, Ruby practically salivating over the prospect of food, Emerald's ears picked up a sound faintly that was almost covered by the squeaking of the wheels. Her heartbeat began to speed up as it dawned on her; it was a safety being disengaged.

"Ruby-" Emerald threw out an illusion, covering her sister and making her appear elsewhere as the waiter wheeled on her, boot coming up and-

Emerald hit the wall as the gunshot echoed, cracking the masonry behind her. Her Aura splintered apart as blood filled her mouth. Ruby flickered back into place, drawn back in horror as the shooter stepped closer, nodding to himself.

Ruby shrieked in a mixture of rage, shock and terror, surging forward as a swarm of rose petals before landing on the waiter's shoulders. Emerald couldn't be sure, but her eyes almost seemed to be tinged with silver as she went in. Her hands went straight for the eyes, clawing off the spectacles he had been wearing and trying to go deeper. Despite the blood loss, Emerald felt a small tinge of pride as Ruby got her nails into the bastard's cheek, drawing blood.

Growling, he grabbed Ruby by the neck, tossing her back onto the bed, his other hand reaching into his jacket. Ruby hit it hard, the breath leaving her lungs. She nearly charged again before a pair of darts landed in her neck. Blue lightning surged out of the darts from a wire connected to the gun he just drew, leaving Ruby quivering where she fell.

Feeling along his cheek and hissing as he saw blood, the waiter grabbed Ruby by the waist, stuffing her inside the bottom cart and closing the lids down. Getting up, her knelt down by Emerald, a slight sound of disapproval escaping his lips.

"Missed the heart entirely. Now you'll just bleed out slow. You've got maybe ten minutes." He pulled out a scroll, punching in a number. "It's done. Be around the back." Getting up, he walked back over to the cart, smoothing out the cloth. "Nothing personal kid. I've just got a job to do and your name came up." He paused. "Well, not your name. I was just told to watch out for an illusionist when I took this job. Nope, my real prize was this young one. My queen was very particular about someone with that shade of eyes."

Emerald coughed, nearly topping over from the force of the cough. "W… why?"

"Why else?" He shrugged. "Money. And my queen is a very lucrative person to work for. Not that this is any of your concern." He chuckled softly. "Your only concerns lie beyond the vale."

"What…" another coughing fit broke out of Emerald's mouth. "what's your name?"

He turned. "Marcus Black," his voice reeked of smugness as he stopped at the door. "Why do you ask?"

Emerald locked eyes with him, glaring. "So I can find you," she ground out.

Marcus chuckled at that, closing the door behind him and snapping the lock. "I look forward to it," were the last words Emerald heard as she drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Weird, I can't hear anything," Qrow had his ear to the door as he worked the lock. "Judging by the state of the lock, I'm guessing a Ruby-sized disaster zone on the other side of the door."

"Maybe they went to bed at a reasonable time?" Summer murmured, slightly teasing.

"Yeah, and I'm the Great…" the door swung open, Qrow's sentence dying on his lips as he took in the turned-over table, the acrid reek of gunpower, and Emerald, slumped against a wall and covered in blood. "Oh God, Emerald!" Qrow charged forward, grabbing Emerald.

"Ruby!" Summer reached into her pack, tossing Qrow a first aid kit as she searched the room. "Where is she?"

Emerald stirred feebly. "Dad…" a slight rasp was all she could manage. "I'm sorry…"

"Try not to talk Emerald. Summer, call an ambulance!" Qrow hid a wince as he pulled Emerald's hand away from the wound. He wasn't a doctor, but it still looked horrific, like her Aura had been torn away with the strike. "Where's Ruby? Who did this?"

"He…" Emerald's eyes narrowed as a buzzing filled Qrow's head. A man slowly materialized in the centre of the room; silver hair, a condescending sneer, smoke pooling from one of his boots. "He took her. I couldn't stop him."

"Marcus Black," he whispered.

Emerald's breathing became more laboured. "I'm sorry… I screwed up again…"

"Emerald, wait, no! Emerald, wake up!" Qrow shook Emerald as her eyes closed again. " _Emerald_!"

* * *

 **Marcus Black. Bet ya didn't see that coming. For reference, I'm using Keythe Farley (Kellog from Fallout 4) as a reference for his voice. Sorry if Marcus came off as a bit too talkative at the end there.**

 **This will be at least three parts and is that thing I was talking about earlier. I'd have gotten this out earlier but I've been on vacation (I'm back Monday), and I struggling with writing some of this.**

 **Regardless, hope you liked it.**


	11. Shattered Gems, Part 2

_**Heart Thief Chapter 11**_

 **So, how's your August been? I went to Iceland and then the hospital. Nothing too serious, I ain't gonna die from it. My lifestyle will do that for me.**

 **I will warn you now- this is a dark chapter. If you're hoping for fluff, sorry to disappoint you.**

 **Otherwise, sorry this took a while. You know the drill, I don't own RWBY.**

 **In which Emerald begins the road to recovery, while Summer reaches a threshold.**

* * *

Emerald's hearing was the first thing to slip past the veil of unconsciousness as she began to wake up. A steady electronic beeping to her left. Her nose was filled with the sterilizing stench of antiseptic. Her eyes fluttered open, a hiss escaping her dry throat as she was blinded by overhead lights.

She nearly fell back into the warm cocoon that had been sleep before the memories came rushing to her- the hotel room, Ruby, Marcus Black- and she surged up, eyes darting frantically around her as her breathing spiked. What she saw wasn't the cool ambers of her room with Ruby, but instead sterile white walls, tiled floors. A hospital room.

A pair of firm, but gentle hands grasped her shoulders, pressing her back down onto the bed. Emerald looked up, dull red eyes catching Taiyang's gentle blue.

"Easy, Em. Try not to move."

Tai kept his hand on her shoulder, locking eyes with Emerald until her breathing slowed. His other hand picked up a jug of water, passing it to the young girl. Emerald practically inhaled the water, draining it quickly. Tai filled the glass as Emerald breathed, placing it within reach.

Emerald's hand ran along her stomach. Her hand shook as the smooth flesh gave way to the soft fabric of dressing, eyes becoming glassy as the echoes of a shot filled her ears alongside a terrified scream-

"Easy, easy." Tai's voice broke through, the memories fading away. "Qrow and Summer got you here as fast as they could, but…" he looked away. "The wound was bad, Emerald. It's gonna scar."

"I don't care about that," Emerald manged to growl, "what about Ruby? Where is she?"

The door opened before Tai responded, Emerald having just enough time to look up before a streak of blonde hair was hugging into her side.

"I'm so glad you're OK!" Yang babbled. Emerald pulled her in close, not talking for a moment and just breathing in Yang's scent for a minute; getting lost in that was a preferable alternative to getting lost in more recent memories. Tai left them be for a moment, running his hand up and down Emerald's arm on instinct before she looked at him again.

"Tai, where's mom and dad?"

"They're…" Tai sighed. "They're gone to go get Ruby back. I stayed to keep an eye on you and Yang."

"Have you heard anything?"

Tai's gaze hardened. "They found the driver of the bastard who took Ruby." At Emerald's confused expression, he explained. "Cameras showed that the kidnapper went out back and stuffed the cart into a van. Qrow and Summer tracked the plates and found the guy. They'll tell them where to find that monster."

* * *

Vale, Warehouse District:

The rhythmic wet thud of fists hitting flesh echoed through the confined space of the warehouse. Four people were inside the room, illuminated by a torch in the corner and the moonlight drifting through the windows on each side. Two were bound; one, a Dawn Glover, known transporter and trafficker in the Vale region, to a chair in the centre of the room. Behind her, a man, Hargrove Woodbell, was handcuffed to a radiator. A woman with red eyes loomed over Dawn, gaze unblinking.

The fourth occupant, a woman with silver eyes, was crouched over the one tied to the radiator, slamming her fists into his face over and over. She stopped, shaking her hand loose as she went back to the one on the chair, grabbing a revolver. The woman with red eyes leaned on the wall by the radiator, watching passively.

Summer stared at the first driver, scraping a chair over to sit in front of her. Marcus had hired two drivers, one dropping him off just off Prismatic Square, the other taking him to just outside the city limits. Qrow had picked up the trail from there and was following Marcus. In the meantime, she had a grislier task with Raven's aid.

"I'll ask you once," she began calmly. "Your client in the hotel uniform. If you got caught, where were you to take him? Any safe houses, dead drops, backup plans? Anything about silver eyes? Tell me now, you'll never see me again."

"Silver eyes?" Glover shook her head. "I don't know nothing about any silver eyes."

Summer sighed, shook her head. Her hand plunged down, the blade of her Knight punching through the driver's kneecap. Glover screeched, buckling against the chair as her head dropped. Summer's hand tapped Glover's cheek twice.

"Focus on me, right here." It was a harsh whisper, snapping Glover out of the pain. Hargrove looked up at Raven, finding no mercy in her dull red stare behind the mask she wore. "Or I'll blow your kneecap out."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Your client kidnapped my daughter and left another for dead. Tell me where I can find him or I'll do to you what I'll do to him."

Glover swallowed. "I know she's alive! He said he needed her alive for his boss!"

"Where's he going? Where's this boss?!"

No immediate response prompted Summer to begin to twist the blade. Glover's shrieks echoed on the walls before she started to splutter. "He mentioned a safehouse! Close to the walls! I swear, I don't know anything else, please!"

Summer ripped out the blade, pulling out her scroll. "Mark it on the map. And you'd best hope your friend behind you confirms that story."

Glover's hand was released; she tapped a waypoint on the map. "I swear, I know it's there! I'm not lying…" she trailed off as Summer got up, walking behind her. "I'm not lying…" she mumbled, cutting off as Summer's arm latched around. Raven rose an eyebrow, but otherwise did not respond as Glover's legs kicked out desperately.

Summer wrenched her arm, a snap filling the room, before she tipped the chair back. Glover fell off, lifelessly thudding against the ground.

Hargrove attempted to retreat, defiance filling his eyes as Summer walked over to him. "Go to hell, she told you what you wanted! I'm not telling you shit!"

"That's alright," Summer said calmly as she hefted a crowbar, "I believe him."

Hargrove screamed as Summer lifted the crowbar overhead before it fell in a crushing blow.

* * *

Qrow entered an hour later, pointedly ignoring a streak of red that lead from a radiator to a backroom. Summer sat in a chair in the centre of the room, staring straight ahead while idly twisting a scroll between her fingers.

"How'd it go?" Her voice was flat, a monotone.

"Tracked him out of the city before losing him. Whatever you got from those drivers is the best lead we have."

The door opened behind Qrow, Raven pulling off some gloves as she walked in. Qrow ignored her. "Are you OK?"

Summer's hands stilled. "No, Qrow. I'm…. I'm not OK. I just killed two people who were guilty by association. They didn't kidnap Ruby, but I still hurt them like they were the bastard himself."

"They weren't exactly saints, Summer."

"And we're not meant to be judge, jury and executioner! I didn't become a Huntress so I could sneak people out of their homes and torture them! I didn't do this so I could become her!"

Raven rose an eyebrow in protest, but decided not to speak. Qrow grabbed another chair, sitting wearily beside Summer.

He sighed, pulling her close. "I don't know what to tell you, Summer. Every second we waste is a chance for that bastard Black to get Ruby away or into Salem's hands. We haven't got time to waste. It's ugly, but that's what we had to do."

"I know."

"That you're horrified is good, though. I'd be more worried if you were okay with what you just did."

"Well, I'm not. I just want to find this bastard and get our daughter back."

"We will."

They sat like that for several minutes before Raven coughed pointedly. "Are you moving soon?"

"Yeah," Summer replied as the two got up, "we're out of here. Should we update Tai?"

"I'd rather let him know when we get Ruby back, but sure."

"Tai's here?" Raven asked.

"He's looking after Emerald at the hospital with Yang."

"Emerald was there when Marcus came in? She saw him?"

"Yeah." Qrow looked at his sister. "You think he'll try something?"

"If you put her in under her real name? Definitely. You need to find him before he gets someone to go silence her. If he had any brains, he'd have finished the job himself, stopping you from knowing who to find."

Summer tugged at Qrow's cape. "I'll be right behind you. Go call Tai, tell him to keep an eye out." Qrow took off, leaving the two women alone. "Thanks again, Raven."

The red-eyed woman shrugged, pulling her mask on. "I owed you after helping me with my problem. We're even now Summer."

"Wouldn't mind the help, though."

"We can't always get what we want, and the tribe will be looking for me. I've spent long enough away as is." Raven's sword slashed through reality, a portal forming.

"Don't be a stranger, Raven," Summer mumbled as Raven walked away.

* * *

Yang had taken to pacing back and forth in the room while Emerald tried to regain her strength. Tai had popped out quickly to restock on coffee and water.

"She'll be fine, right?" She muttered for what had to be the tenth time. Emerald was tempted to groan and tell her to stop, that it wasn't helping her rest. But then Emerald realized that she'd be doing the exact same thing if the situation was reversed. Though Yang at least would have likely done more than get one-shot and let an assassin in the front day.

She did have a unique talent for screwing up, she mused.

"Don't be like that!" Aw crap, she'd said that last part out loud, hadn't she? "You couldn't have done anything Emerald."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better about getting shot?"

"It's supposed to get you to stop moping!" Yang turned on Emerald, a hint of red entering her eyes. "You made a mistake, sure-"

"And that mistake got your cousin- my _sister_ \- taken by some talkative lunatic!" They were yelling now, oblivious to the world outside. "I screwed up Yang, and every time I do, everyone around me suffers! My biological parents left me like trash, and now Ruby's gone and may-" her voice cracked, "may never be the same! Because I fucked up, and I can't _stop_ fucking up!"

Yang stopped, face softening. There was no red to her eyes now; only lilac. "I didn't know… I thought you got past this."

"Guess I hadn't." Emerald's head dropped into her hands, the fire within fading out. "Yang, can I just… I just wanna be alone."

A hesitant nod. "I'll tell Dad to give you some space. But Emerald?"

Emerald slowly looked up at her.

"You can't blame yourself. And when you want to talk…"

"Thanks Yang." Emerald turned onto her side, eyes fluttering shut.

Yang left, closing the door after her. She sighed quietly, resting her back against the door before walking down several corridors to the row of chairs they'd claimed after arriving. Tai's jacket was slung over one of the chairs, a gentle vibration rumbling the jacket. She took out his scroll, answering it. "Uncle Qrow?"

" _Yang, I need you to get your dad on the line right now."_ Qrow sounded out of breath, like he'd been running.

"I'll try and find him- what's going on? Have you found Ruby?"

" _Tell him to keep an eye on anyone that comes on the floor. We're closing in, but this guy might send someone after Emerald."_

Yang turned back to Emerald's room, running at a dead sprint. The scroll tumbled out of her fingers as she rounded the corner; a masked figure opening the door, a partner beside them loading a gun.

The door opened, the weapon was raised. Yang's hair lit up as she ran forward.

" _Emerald!"_

A shot rang out.

* * *

 **Um, yeah. This got dark. Went back and forth on it, but I ultimately have it in. Trust me, the story's not going to get darker because of this. Things will be back to relative normal soon. I am sorry if this is a bit too much of a tonal shift. And another cliffhanger because, well, I'm a monster.**

 **Hopefully this next chapter will take less time. Writing fluffy comedy is a lot easier than this crap, who knew.**


	12. Shattered Gems, Part 3

_**Heart Thief Chapter 12**_

 **I'm looking forward to getting back to irrelevant slice of life fluff after this. Came up with some ideas for chapters after this.**

 **And I think I'll have earned writing that fluff after this. Hope you enjoy. As usual, RWBY's not mine.**

 **In which everybody starts fighting, Raven gets to be a hero, and Emerald threatens an all powerful Wizard.**

* * *

Instinct had enabled Yang to start running towards the door to Emerald's room before any actual sense of danger had flared up. She thanked whatever gods were real that it was a short corridor, or else she wouldn't have been able to slam all her weight into the gunman. His aim was thrown off, the shot going wide and, thankfully, missing Emerald. The two tumbled and hit the ground, the weapon sliding away on the tiled floor.

Yang scrambled up, eyes darting between the guy on the ground and his partner, still at the door. Their head was quirked, observing Yang like one would look at a fly on a windshield; mild disgust that was tapered by raw apathy more than anything else.

"Deal with the child," a female voice, more bored than anything, "I'll finish this."

"That's not gonna happen."

The gunman turned, a fist flying into her face and sending her flying back. Taiyang strolled forward, cracking his neck and knuckles as he passed Yang.

"Yang, get back go inside with Emerald. I've got this."

The assassin that Yang knocked over had picked up his weapon while Yang was distracted, backing up alongside his partner.

"There's two of us and one of you, old man. Step out of the way or we'll hurt you."

Yang, from the door, watched as Taiyang stiffened before sliding into a ready stance. His tattoo seemed to thrum with a golden light that began to run along his fists.

"Take your shot."

The female assassin took the bait, speeding forward while snapping out a baton that crackled with electricity. Tai met her midway, flipping over her and using her own momentum to pull her to the ground with a resounding slam. Snatching the baton out of the air, he wheeled on the gunman, snapping the stick outwards with a flick of his wrist.

The baton impacted against the gunman's wrist, the charge from it making him drop his weapon again. Tai turned again as the woman charged, launching a series of crippling blows that Yang had only seen once- when Taiyang had been showing her where to never hit someone unless she was going for a killing blow. Each strike was aimed at a nerve cluster, an organ or a pathway for the blood; and each strike was almost casually deflected, tossed aside. Yang saw her father's face as he blocked the blows, and he while there was an undercurrent of fury there she hadn't seen before, he looked more... bored than anything. Like he'd expected a better challenge.

Eventually, Tai seemed to have enough of the show. He had yielded no ground to the attacker, and was beginning to counter back. His strikes chipped away at her Aura, keeping her (and the other attacker whenever he got back up, only to be taken down with an offhand strike) away from Emerald's room. Finally, his hands clapped around her ears. Reeling from the blow, the attacker didn't see Tai's fist pummelling into her stomach until she was sent flying, crashing into a vending machine and topping it over. She didn't get back up.

Crossing his arms, Tai narrowed his eyes at the other thug, who had been picking himself up before his companion became intimate with a vending machine.

"You wanna keep dancing, buddy? Or you gonna be the smartest criminal in Vale and sit down until the police show up?"

The gunman's butt hit the floor so fast Yang almost started laughing. She'd known her dad was a Huntsman, but hearing the stories about Tai back then alongside Qrow and Summer's ribbing of Tai, and then seeing him effortlessly stop two assassins? Was like comparing two entirely different people.

"Dad?" She called out.

"Yeah honey?"

"You're kind of a badass."

A nervous chuckle. "Well, I try." Tai sobered up soon after. "I'd better tell Qrow about this."

* * *

Marcus had to give the Rose girl credit. She hadn't stopped trying to break out the entire night since regaining consciousness, constantly worming her way out of whatever bindings he placed on her. Had it not been for his own paranoia leading him to booby-trap the entire safehouse (electrified windows, shutters, laser tripwires, the works), she might have gotten away. What was vexing him was that he wasn't sure how she kept getting out- he'd leave for moments only to come back to Rose finding a new way to try and break out.

"You're making it very difficult to keep you alive, you know," he spoke casually, like he was sharing his tips for a good barbeque with a neighbour over the fence and not an assassin who had kidnapped a small child. "I'm impressed, truthfully. Seven years old and you've broken out more than most people four times your age manage. But it's just starting to get more irritating than it is impressive. At this point, I just want you out of my hair."

A slight shudder ran through Ruby's body as Marcus tightened the knots. Scraping a chair to sit in front of Rose, he got comfortable. "But just to make sure you don't get out again, I'll be staying right here. It's been fun, but I'm done playing games. So get comfortable, because our ride out of here shows up in a few hours."

An awkward silence ensued. Rose had tried talking at first with the usual questions- why are you doing this, what led you down this path, so on and so forth, before just not talking to him in general. Still, he felt he had to be cordial. Just because he was an assassin with a side job in bounty hunting didn't mean he had to be rude.

"So, let me ask you a question on the level. How'd you bust out? Those knots have held men way stronger than you without breaking and you slipped out. I've done this to kids before, I know to tighten it since they're little spider-monkeys. Oh, don't judge me, I'm not making a joke against the Faunus. There's these little monkeys, see, on Menagerie. They like to crawl around and stuff, even more than normal monkeys and spiders. I took my son once with me to a job that south, he had a good time there."

Marcus sighed wistfully. "But back to my question. How'd you slip free?"

Narrowed eyes were the only response he got.

"Well, can't blame a man for trying," he muttered. "Is it your Semblance? Some weird new Aura trick? Come on, I'm the last sane person you're going to have a conversation with before… well, whatever my client wants with you. I doubt it's pretty."

"You're not sane," Ruby muttered. "You're just some crazy nutjob who talks so much without saying anything. My parents are gonna find you, and when they do, there won't be a corner on Remnant you can hide in."

Marcus smiled easily, leaning back. "And I'm looking forward to it, I promise you."

Below them, the muffled sound of an explosion echoed. Marcus got up, stretching out.

"Looks like it's time to meet the parents. I'll be right back."

* * *

Having assassins at the door reduced one's ability to sleep considerably. Even with Taiyang and Yang practically hovering over Emerald, she still found herself full of nervous energy in the hours following the attempt at her life. Emerald's condition was still too critical to safely move her, so she was confined to the bed.

Eventually, the drugs made their way back into her system and allowed her to rest. When she came to, a man with silver hair in a black suit and green scarf was sitting patiently, reading from a scroll with a coffee cup to his side. His eyes caught hers as she stirred.

"Emerald Sustrai. I'm glad to see you are well."

Emerald knew of Ozpin; Patch being a part of Vale meant that the near idolization that the people in the city had for Ozpin crossed over as well, while Qrow, Summer and Tai had nothing but praise for the man. She knew he wasn't a threat, especially with Tai still outside, but her hackles were still raised. Most people would have just waited for Emerald to wake up before coming in, after all.

"Thanks," she said diplomatically. "Why are you here?"

Ozpin's eyebrow rose. "I can't have heard of your tragic circumstances and thought to stop by while offering my condolences?"

"No, too easy. You'd probably like to visit every kid who goes to the hospital, but you're chained to your desk. And I can tell that because you brought your coffee with you."

"Guilty as charged," Ozpin chuckled while gesturing to the cup. "In my defence, the brew they serve here is quite fowl. That reminds me." He reached into a satchel beside him and extracted a red apple. "Since the food is little better."

Emerald nodded her thanks as he tossed the apple towards her, tearing into it like a starving animal. Being fed through a drip made any solid food more of an alluring prospect than breathing fresh air or enjoying freedom.

"You are correct, I made the time to visit you specifically. I wished to give you my sympathies for what happened. Your mother and father were with me while Marcus Black attacked you, and I am sorry for that."

"How could you have known? There's people to blame for this, you aren't on that list." Emerald frowned. "Why were they meeting you? Qrow teaches at Signal."

"I'll admit that I've been trying to convince Summer to come teach for me for quite some time. But that wasn't why I asked them there. You are aware of Qrow's frequent absences?"

Emerald nodded.

"Those have been missions. Missions I have asked him to do. Your mother helps on occasion as well. In using them for my purposes, I failed to consider the targets I'd be placing on their backs."

"And that target led to Black… what, going after them through Ruby and me?"

Ozpin nodded morosely.

"They're strong. They'll stop him, and get Ruby back."

"I hope so too," Ozpin replied. "Forgive me, miss Sustrai."

She shook her head. "You've got nothing to worry about from me. It's only if my sister gets hurt that I'll get angry. And if I do?" A glint entered her eyes. "You'll never see me coming."

* * *

"This was…" Marcus had to stop to catch his breath, "pretty fun, right?"

Qrow glared at Marcus. It was all the Huntsman could do, between Marcus' boot to his throat and his sword out of reach. Summer was still trying to pick herself up from the lamp-pole she'd hit, while Ruby was starting to back away.

"Haven't had a fight like that in a while. Shame, but when you have a Semblance like mine, it's frankly idiotic to waste it by not using it."

Making the point, Marcus used his Semblance, the very air escaping Qrow's lungs and forming into a pale mist that wrapped around Black's hand as he picked up the blade beside him.

"Air manipulation. Most people would try and fly, or master summoning huge gusts of wind like they're one of the Four Maidens. But I always was good at taking people's breaths away…" Marcus shrugged. "Now I just do it literally."

Marcus walked over to Ruby, letting a sliver of air enter Qrow's lungs. "Thank you for bringing me Summer. My client will greatly enjoy having two Silver Eyed Warriors to poke and prod at. And it wouldn't be possible if weren't for you." Marcus sighed dramatically. "But that's the problem, isn't it? I can't bring them both. Restraining one's been enough trouble. Besides, I only need one pair of Silver Eyes. Two? Well, that's just overkill." Raising Qrow's sword, Marcus let himself smile as he brought it down on Ruby's neck while Qrow cried out-

A flash of red met him, and Marcus was blown off his feet, away from Ruby. Qrow's sword embedded itself near the downed Huntsman as Marcus hit the ground, catching himself after the second impact on the ground. Dusting himself off, Marcus frowned at the new arrival.

Carrying a vibrant red Ōdachi, with a black and red outfit alongside a painted white mask, Raven Branwen's sheer presence was as unnerving as a sudden chill on the night wind. Her blade hung loosely by her side, red eyes staring unblinking at Marcus.

Qrow dragged himself up, keeping his wounded arm close to his chest. "Raven? What-"

"Get your daughter out of here Qrow." Raven's tone was stripped of all emotion as she spoke over him. "I'll handle this."

"But-"

"Your Aura and arm have been broken. You'll only slow me down if I have to fight for both of us." She gave him a look over her shoulder. "I'll get Summer out. I promise."

Qrow said nothing, weighing the choice for a short second before darting over to Ruby, snatching his sword in the process.

Marcus sighed, Raven's attention snapping back to him. "Touching and all, but I do need a Silver-Eyes for my client. So, if you would politely get out of my way and let me take one, that would be fantastic. You are a mercenary by trade miss Branwen. Perhaps we can strike a deal? I'll let you pick."

Raven sheathed her sword, seeming to appraise him. "See? Just walk away, no harm no foul-"

Raven sprang forward in a red blur, her sword in a constant cycle of slashing quickly, entering her sheath and then being withdrawn at lightning fast speeds. She wasn't in the mood to play around- Black was dangerous, so she was striking to kill.

Besides, if Summer wanted to complain that Raven killed the bastard, she could argue self-defence. Marcus wouldn't be able to complain.

Raven frowned as Marcus absorbed more of the air around them, forming it around his arms and legs to augment his strikes while snatching the air out from Raven's lungs. Much of it was centred on his torso and skull, to prevent any cheap strikes getting past. And wherever Raven did land a blow past the armor, Marcus's Aura was able to absorb it easily.

Forming armour around his arm, Marcus took a swing. Raven caught the attack, her blade sparking off as they pushed against each other. Batting the arms away Raven swung again, Marcus catching it with both forearms. His smirk was still there, the insufferable bastard, but it was slightly forced. He was running low on Aura too, then.

Marcus's head rushed forward, slamming against Raven's mask and making the bandit stumble. The air around Raven became heavy as it tightened around her throat before Marcus sent her in the air, her sword nearly tumbling out of her grasp. At the apex of the rise, as the pressure built along her ribs and lungs, Raven began to fall, her sword slicing through time and space below her. She re-entered on a diagonal entry to Marcus, her momentum carrying through and letting her rocket free of the dead air.

Marcus saw her, air tightening around him already as he prepared more armor over his chest. Raven sheathed her sword. She'd have one shot at this working.

Nearly hitting him, Raven drew, the combined force of her sudden draw and her own force hitting Marcus and piercing the armor. Marcus gasped involuntarily as Raven cut along his front, Aura flicking and straining to protect him as his aerial armor fell to pieces. He fell to his knees as Raven landed, panting.

A raspy chuckle broke out behind her. Raven turned, surprise hidden by the mask as Marcus got right back up.

"You're pretty good," he ground out between blood-soaked teeth. "No one's landed a hit on me like that before."

She backed up a step out of apprehension as Marcus re-forged his armor. "Why won't you just die…" she muttered.

"Let me try a new tactic," he called. "You care for your tribe, I know that much. Why not join forces with Salem? She'll protect your people, ensure you meet the strongest people in Remnant and test your life philosophy. The weak die, the strong survive, right? With Salem, you can apply that to the world at large, Raven. My original deal stands. Just let me bring either Rose with me to Salem and she'll welcome you with open arms."

A year ago, that idea would have sparked interest in Raven, loathe as she would be to consider it seriously. That philosophy had dominated her way of thinking since she left STRQ behind, her life becoming nothing but intervals between duels to prove herself. And then the Spring Maiden was chosen from the tribe. At first, Summer would have been right; Raven sought to harness Spring's powers not just to keep the tribe safe, but so they could be used to aid the tribe in their conquests.

But Summer's words had touched a nerve, making the warrior think outside of combat. Not quite enough to renounce the tribe lifestyle, but Raven, for lack of a better word, softened. Not without consequence, but the ice around her heart had melted, slightly. Enough that she kept communications open with Ozpin. Enough that she saw this not as an example of her 'one save' rule, but doing the right thing for the sake of it. Enough that she'd not turn away twice.

"Maybe I misjudged you," she finally said. But not enough that she still wouldn't cheat to win a fight.

"How about it then? Will you lend me a hand and grab one of the Roses?"

"A hand…" Her hand strayed to her sword hilt. "How about I take yours?"

She charged again, blade meeting armour as they danced back and forth. Marcus had benefited from the lapse in fighting more than Raven had, leaving virtually no gaps for her to drive her sword into. He was keeping up with her blows, alternating the armor between each of his hands.

One of his strikes got past her sword. Raven sucked in a breath as she was driven back, her Aura finally giving up on her and flickering away. Marcus's strikes kept coming, pushing the bandit back towards Summer.

Raven's eyes danced, tracking the gusts of air that flowed across Marcus and absorbed the edge of her sword. Slowly, pieces began to come together. He was focusing all his Semblance on his arms, one at a time to maximise defence and the force behind each blow. They were moving just faster than Raven's overhead swings. And he was cocky enough to fall for another trap.

Marcus's left fist met Raven's jaw, beginning a string of blows that slammed against her mask, each sending her reeling. One final right hook met the forehead of the mask, shattering it. Raven fell back, skidding on tired feet. She span with the recoil, sheathing her sword.

Marcus closed in for the killing blow, gusts forming across his chest as they flew to form across his left arm.

Raven saw the angle. She drew, her aim true.

Marcus's left arm hit the ground, the air visibly evaporating around it. Black himself followed, landing on his back as he roared in pain, Aura lying in pools around him. Raven stared blankly at him.

Marcus stared back. Slowly, that smirk crossed his face again. "You think… I'll be the only one… to find her? I was just the first. You know that Salem will never let them rest-"

A shot rang out. Marcus's head snapped back, blood arcing in the air from the new hole in the centre of his forehead. Raven turned, seeing Summer still holding her weapon while leaning against a wall.

"Tell her yourself," she ground out, revolver slipping from her fingers as she slid down the wall. Raven dashed over, catching her before she hit the ground.

"Nice shot," she observed. Sirens echoed in the distance. "I hope your daughter picks up some of that skill."

"That's more Qrow's forte, I'm training more with Emerald" Summer replied, hissing as Raven's fingers ghosted over her ribs. "I don't think anything's broken."

"Couple of fractures. He was aiming to make movement hard for you in case he snatched you." She looked back over at Marcus's body. "I really liked that mask."

"I'll buy you a new one at Wintertime." Raven set Summer down gently against the wall as the sirens closed in. Blue and red lights flickered a few streets away. "You're not staying?"

"Probably best if the police don't get to speak to me. There'll be plenty of witnesses who saw the fight regardless."

"Well," Summer attempted a shrug, "I won't keep you after this question. Why'd you come back?"

"I don't like leaving jobs half-finished." It was a sensible excuse. Summer could tell Raven was partly lying, but she didn't press the matter. Raven started to stroll away. "Look after yourself Summer. Try and keep my brother alive."

"See you around, Raven. I owe you for this."

A barely perceivable nod was Raven's response, before her sword sliced through reality, fading behind her as she disappeared. Summer rested her head on the wall as the first police officers arrived. It had been a long night.

* * *

 **That was a lot of fighting. Thank God I wound up cutting Qrow and Summer's fight with Marcus or it would've been even more fighting (Sorry for teasing Summer hunting down Marcus and then not showing it on screen, but at least she got the killshot). I'm kinda happy with most of it; I always tend to over-describe my fights to where they feel tame.**

 **But it's finally done. In hindsight, doing this may not have been a great idea- most slice of life stories don't need to have torture scenes and drawn out fights. But then, most shows aren't RWBY.**

 **Sad news though, I'll be taking a hiatus from Heart Thief. Just to let the batteries recharge, don't worry. In the meantime, I'll be doing a short Sephora story based on something in Gray Haddock's discography.**

 **There's two short scenes to wrap this up. Enjoy. Thanks for reading.**

* * *

The room was comparatively warmer than his old one, but Mercury failed to notice, lost as he was in his thoughts. If he looked at it objectively… his father was dead. Killed by a woman with black hair and a white mask, from what he'd overheard the detectives saying when they searched Marcus's house. It filled him with a mixture of emotions; relief that Marcus was dead and that he wouldn't be subject to his drunken rants anymore. But Mercury felt more rage than anything. Cold, searing rage that twisted in his gut like a bad meal. His father was a monster, a brutish barbarian who beat his own kin. But he was still his father. There were obligations that would need to be met. One didn't let a kin-slayer walk away scot-free.

He wasn't ready yet, obviously. But he was young, and the woman was older. He'd only be getting better while she slowed down.

Her time would come, Mercury reasoned. He would train now. He'd find that woman, shake her hand and thank her for killing his father.

And then he'd kill her.

* * *

Ruby slowly came to in the middle of the night. Everyone had returned to Patch a week prior and things were starting to return to normal. She couldn't wait for normalcy again after all that had happened.

Her eyes raked over the empty doorway that her brain was telling her no one was hiding at. She sighed.

"Emerald, come on."

Her sister shimmered into place, arm crossed and rubbing the other. "Sorry."

"I was waking up anyway." Silver eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What are you doing up? Mom said you still needed to lie down."

"I do, I just…" Emerald shuddered, red eyes going misty as her memories took her back to a night Ruby still remembered all too well. "I just woke up, and… I had to make sure."

Ruby didn't respond for a second, taking in Emerald's shaky breaths and constant glances at Ruby as if to confirm that she wasn't tricking herself. She scooted over, patting the part of the bed she was just in. "Come on Em, get some rest. You won't heal if you keep moving around."

Emerald hesitated, slowly shifting to the bed and getting in beside Ruby. Her breath was still shaky as she got comfortable, pulling Ruby close.

"You're real..." she whispered to herself when she thought Ruby was asleep. "You're real. I'm not lying, you're real..." Emerald's voice cracked. God Ruby, I'm so sorry... Please be real..."

Emerald's whispered words were replaced with a choked back cry before she started to gently sob, running her hands up and down Ruby's back. It took some time before her hands stilled and her breathing evened out.

"I'm here," Ruby murmured. "I'm not going anywhere, sis."

* * *

 **It's a slow road to recovery, as they say. It's not quite settled in yet for Ruby how bad things could have gone, but everyone else lost a few years of their lifespan considering all the horrible things Marcus could have done to her.**

 **Because getting gutshot and forced to watch as your sister is kidnapped will fuck you up, too.**

 **People were asking my plans for Merc. All I have right now for you is *** _ **shrug***_ **, guess you'll have to see.**

 **I promise, we're back to the happier stuff after this. Might do another little arc with Raven down the line, we'll see.**


	13. Cookie Monsters smaller, fluffier cousin

_**Heart Thief Chapter 13**_

 **Unlucky number thirteen. So, the Theatre AU didn't branch out- my lack of experience in running a show turned out to be a bigger hurdle than I anticipated, so I'm gonna work it into background lore for my D &D AU.**

 **Either way, welcome back to Jewel Thief Turned Heart Thief, where nothing bad ever happens and there isn't any torture or murder. Yet.**

 **Emerald's about fourteen, putting Ruby at ten. This is after Chapter 3, where Ruby became a bird.**

 **In which Ruby sets out to do something potentially physically impossible, and Emerald's just along for the ride.**

* * *

Ruby's puppy eyes were a weapon of goddamn mass destruction, Emerald thought to herself. There was no other explanation for how much havoc the young girl was capable of unleashing on the world. She was far too smart for her own good, able to get away with murder in the eyes of her parents, and agile enough to avoid whatever consequences came her way.

The only thing more adorably deadly was Ruby when she wasn't a hyperactive ball of red and black hair running around… was when she was a hyperactive ball of red and black feathers flittering around. That could be a nightmare and a half to clean up after, and the entire family had united to agree that Ruby could never become a caffeine addict or else Remnant would surely fall. She was bad enough with a sugar rush in her blood, and Summer's cookies didn't help.

Emerald had slowly grown used to a house where three people could at will turn into birds. It had been an awkward few months (Ruby had nearly died that one time when Emerald threw herself onto the couch without looking), but the sight of a black robin chirping grew moderately commonplace as Qrow taught Ruby and Yang about this new complication. Emerald didn't mind, since it let her spent time training with Summer, and with entrance exams for a combat school beginning to loom, more training was always appreciated.

Thus, when Emerald came in one day from practicing, eager for a shower and a nap, the tiny robin on the couch failed to surprise her, nor did the cookie the robin was holding in its beak while excitedly flapping its wings (or the plate beside her). What surprised Emerald was the combination, and how the bird was attempting to eat the cookie.

Ruby looked up at Emerald staring flatly at her. Ruby looked back. An awkward silence ensued.

"Ruby," Emerald finally said. "Why are you trying to eat that when you're all feathered up?"

" _Peep peep peep."_ Ruby's beak poked towards a sheet of paper left on the table in front of her with several coloured pens beside it. Frowning, Emerald set her gear bag beside the door and walked over, picking the note up.

"'If I eat it like this, I can make it last much longer and enjoy the taste for a long period of time,'" she read aloud. "Wait, but it's gotta be harder to eat like that. Why not just control yourself and chew before you swallow?"

Another fit of peeping broke out as Ruby kept moving her head to the side. Emerald eventually got the idea and flipped the page.

"'I'm too lazy to change back, it's a bigger cookie when I'm a bird and I'm comfy.'" Emerald put the page back down, raising an eyebrow. Ruby shied away, beak lifting the cookie to act as a shield between them.

Emerald looked back up at the note. "And it seems I'm not the first one to see this." Several comments had been left along the margins of the page, alongside several doodles in yellow felt-tip.

" _That's my sister! Fight the power!"_ was accompanied by a pair of birds, bright red and yellow respectively, perched on a green figure. Yang's drawing had some ways to come, suffice to say.

In silver, _"I really should stop my daughter from doing such unhealthy things but… eh, hell with it, I'm just as lazy,"_ sat under this.

" _Short-Stalk! Leaving your impressionable young daughter alone with a plate of cookies? Have you no regard for her safety_?" Qrow's writing was evident even without the dull red of his pen.

The silver returned. Thinking about it, Emerald had seen Summer taking down a note as she left for training _. "Shut up Qrow, or you'll be the bird on that couch tonight."_

Emerald sighed, grabbing a pen out of her bag and scrawling her own note in green. _"Since all of you are irresponsible idiots, I'll keep an eye on her."_

Putting the note back on the table, Emerald rearranged the couch before slumping down on it, cookie plate on her belly. Ruby flitted up onto her chest, getting comfortable as Emerald dug up the remote and flicked on the TV. Mindless droning filled the room as Emerald picked at some of Summer's cookies (Always a delight given how fast Ruby and Yang could wolf them down, to say nothing of Qrow) while Ruby got crumbs on her shirt in her continued laziness.

The background buzz, comfort of the couch and soft feeling of the bird on her stomach began to lull Emerald off to a blissful sleep, before a sudden weight on her chest broke her out of her reverie. Ruby had fallen asleep, morphing back to her normal form and curling on Emerald's chest like a cat. Emerald sighed softly, gently placing the remaining cookies on the table before smoothing Ruby out, pulling her close.

Sleep came easy after that.

* * *

 **It's short and a rather weird chapter. But I wanted to get one more done for August. Been a bit of a weird month, and I refused to do another chapter during the Beacon Years for another bit until I at least cover Emerald's entrance exams. Plus, after the last few chapters, wanted to get back to innocent fluff.**

 **This chapter came from a drawing Ellelehman did of Bird Ruby with a cookie, if you're wondering.**

 **Emerald's flat stare is just that look Jack has after the second Daughters of Aku fight in Samurai Jack season 5 episode 3. I'd link a picture, but fanfiction dot net doesn't like fun.**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	14. Kick the tires, light a (forest) fire

_**Heart Thief Chapter 14**_

 **I've got art for this story now that I didn't just crib off Google! The new art was done by Raffurano on Tumblr, who is an awesome artist I can't recommend enough.**

 **This starts a little "arc," though I use the word loosely, of Emerald's Beacon years. There'll still be stuff in Patch and when she's a kid, but between me just running out of ideas for the moment and wanting to expand my sandbox because I'm needy like that, it'll be a lot of Beacon stuff for the next while. But to get there, I need to get the teams formed.**

 **Emerald's seventeen, Yang's fifteen, Ruby's thirteen. As usual, I don't own RWBY.**

* * *

"It is in your best interests to be paired with someone whom you can work well with. That being said, the first person that you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

Well. Shit. Emerald zoned out after that, picking up the basics- head north, snatch an ancient relic, head back to the cliffs- while her eyes glanced over the other prospective Beacon students to her left and right. She had thought that standardized testing had been too easy, and now she saw why- the real meat grinder to get rid of the Huntsmen who wouldn't cut the grade was this glorified insanity.

Then again, Summer and Qrow were equally insane when they got going. Maybe this test would just bring out the lunatic in her?

It was around this point where the metallic platforms the students were standing on revealed their purpose to be launch pads. Ah, that explained some of the last bits of advice she'd been given before leaving Patch.

" _Remember Emerald!" Summer, Tai and Qrow had roared as one as the boat took off. "Landing Strategy!"_

Eh, she'd wing it. It had worked for the written exam, at least.

The next pad rocketed up, sending some guy in a silver jacket into the trees below. One left. Emerald gulped. She had this right?

* * *

She really didn't have it. Being flung high into the sky and falling was more horrifying than Emerald had thought it would be, and she would be lying if she was to say she hadn't let out a scream or two.

Still, once she'd regained her composure, making a landing strategy proved simple enough thanks to her chains and blade letting her latch into a tree and spiralling down. Emerald took a second to regain her composure by promptly swearing up a storm.

"I know you're watching us," she concluded, "so I just have to ask: _what the hell is wrong with you people?!_ "

Emerald sighed, snapping the chains back into place. No sense standing around complaining when she still needed to get a relic. Maybe it'd be easy enough; some of the weapons she'd seen the night prior were much larger and louder than Rhinestone Eyes, so she'd be able to fly under the radar. Creep in, grab a partner if they looked likeable enough, grab a relic and be on her merry way back to the cliff and away from the forest.

The inhuman growl behind her cut that idea in the bud quickly, however. Beowulves. Her pistols rose, cutting the Grimm down as they charged. Four fell before a single Beowolf made it into melee range, but she dodged, planting a point-blank shot into its head. Emerald dodged back as two more took its place, a few quick slashes giving her breathing room. Even with years of training, she never had been fantastic in a stand-up fight. Her whole skillset was built around evasion and stealth; in other words, not getting caught flat-footed.

Even still, a Beowolf was no trouble for her. The pack was brought down quickly enough, one left standing as Emerald cut through the rest. She brought her pistols back up to bear-

Only for the back of the Grimm's skull to implode, the body falling to the ground. Silver-jacket stood, leg still up to reveal the gun built into his boot.

 _Emerald hit the wall as the gunshot echoed, cracking the masonry behind her. Her Aura splintered apart as blood filled her mouth. Ruby flickered back into place, drawn back in horror as the shooter stepped closer, nodding to himself-_

No, **no.** Focus. He had a gun-boot, she could live with that. She'd have to now, they made eye contact. Unless she gouged his eyes out- no, they had security.

"I had that, for the record." Her voice didn't waver as she let casual disdain settle on her face.

He shrugged. "Didn't look it. Guessing I'm the first person you found?"

"You'd guess right." She holstered her pistols, offering a hand. "Emerald Sustrai. Guess we're partners now."

"Guess we are." He took her hand, shaking it. "Mercury Black."

Well, _shit._ Boot-gun weapon, surname of Black… this was going to end horribly, she knew it. She could only hope the rest of her team had less involvement in one of the most traumatic moments of her life. She'd take sane people, at this rate.

* * *

"That's a big Ursa." Mercury said flatly.

" _Was_ a big Ursa." Emerald replied, just as flatly.

Both stood in stunned awe and horror as the Ursa faded away, leaving an all-too-peppy Faunus girl standing in its wake armed with a violin with some under-barrel attachment… if one could call it that. It looked more like some fancy Atlas tech, and were it not for the bow in her hand alongside the visible strings, Emerald would have confused it for something else. Dressed in a sleeveless red corset with a bundle of scarves wrapped around her waist, she was dealing with the morning chill better than Emerald. Two large bat ears twitched as she turned to them. There was a lot of fire around her that still lapped at the grass. Behind her was another woman with a rifle, keeping an eye out.

"Oh look, more people! Raine, I found more people!" She turned back to Emerald and Mercury, taking them both by the hand and passionately shaking them. "I'm Domino, call me Donut, everyone does!"

"Uh… huh…" Emerald managed to mutter as the other woman stepped up. A dark blue coat complimented a uniform, capped off with a beret that stood over dark hair pulled into a bun. Amid this forest and how dirty it made everything (white pants were a mistake), she was still prim and proper, like she hadn't been flung into a forest.

"You two are the first pair to arrive since we showed up." Raine gestured behind her to a central collection of pillars, where several chess pieces lay. "Domino suggested waiting for another team so our return trip would be easier." She tipped her hat to them both. "Raine Rubidium, at your service."

"Makes sense to me," Mercury noted. Some knight statues were left over, so the two grabbed them. "These are just chess pieces, right? I'm not losing it?"

Domino brought up her own 'relic.' "Nope, you're not losing it." She scratched her chin. "Unless I've lost it too, but that would be a specific breed of psychosis!"

" _Anyway_ … it's just chess pieces then." Emerald stashed hers away. "Much as I love the forest and all the horrible death monsters that live within it, will we go back now?"

No-one spoke against her, so Emerald turned around and began to return to the cliffs, three sets of footsteps falling in behind her.

* * *

It was generally steady progress. A few Beowolves and Ursai on occasion would attempt an attack, but what was barely a problem for one person with Aura and weapons was child's play for four such combatants. The last few minutes had been relatively quiet, though.

And therein lied the problem. Much as she hated using the cliché, it was quiet. Too quiet. Mercury stopped beside Emerald. "Trouble?"

A quiet rumbling in the ground beneath their feet. Emerald sighed. "Yeah, and here I was thinking this would be easy."

Another rumbling. It was coming closer. A shadow began to loom behind them.

"Wouldn't be fun if it was easy." Domino seemed almost happy that the silence was being broken, which was not a pleasant characteristic in a teammate. Suddenly Mercury seemed like a slightly better alternative. Slightly.

One last rumbling set their teeth on edge before the Grimm broke through. Not a Beowolf, or an Ursa, or even a Deathstalker. Gargantuan, made primarily of wood, swinging a tree branch like a weapon.

"Scatter!" Emerald barked before the Geist charged, the four splitting apart. Raine, Emerald and Mercury began shooting as they climbed up separate trees, bullets bouncing off the bark of the Geist's 'skin'. Domino followed, unsheathing her weapon as she landed on a thick branch.

"I love music like anyone else," Mercury called out as he poured fire into the Geist's flank, "but now may not be the best time is all I'm saying!"

A manic grin was all Mercury got for a response before Domino began to play. And with every note, the temperature seemed to rise before a root cause was discovered.

Refined Fire Dust shot out of the violin, wrapping around Domino like a coiled serpent. A shrill shift in notes saw the flames slam into the Geist, knocking it back.

Emerald blinked. "Flamethrower violin. What."

Regaining herself, Emerald tossed her chains out, latching onto the Geist. After a quick running start, she leaped free of the tree, flying around the now mostly on fire Grimm while firing with her other hand. She caught a brief glimpse of Mercury with his mouth open slightly, while Raine tilted her head.

Domino let out a whoop as another barrage slammed into the Geist. The flames were wrapped mostly around its upper torso, effectively blinding it and preventing it from seeing the Huntsmen as they destroyed the body in lieu of an actual strategy. But even though it was unable to see them, the Geist's limbs were large and wide, able to sweep entire trees with its strikes. One such blow glanced Emerald and she fell, hitting the ground hard as her pistols hit the ground. A stump of a leg, even as it was barraged with fire from Mercury and Domino, rose and prepared to slam onto Emerald.

It slammed down, but not against Emerald. It hit what looked like a pane of glass with sunlight flitting through it. Raine stood before Emerald, fists and teeth clenched as, with a growl that rose into a roar, blasted back as the glass shattered. The Geist was sent flying from a sun-yellow ray that formed from the broken glass. Mercury and Domino fell on either side, Mercury helping Emerald up while Domino grabbed her weapons.

She eyed Raine. "Semblance?"

A terse nod. "Kinetic absorption and redistribution." The Geist began to rise again in front of them.

"That thing's hide is too tough for my shots," Mercury noted drily as he reloaded, "and burning it's not doing much more than piss it off."

"It's covering its face," Domino mused. "It doesn't care what we're doing to the rest of it, but that white slate hasn't taken a single hit all fight."

Emerald frowned, eyeing their weapons and the nearby trees. "I might have an idea." Her focus went to Raine. "Those beams. Can you send someone in the air with them?"

"Should be able to. It'll hurt though."

"Promises promises," Mercury growled.

"Domino? We're gonna cripple it. We need to pin it down and strip it of its armor." Emerald looked over at the other two Huntsmen. "You two? Get in the air. When it can't block, hit that faceplate with everything you've got."

The trio nodded, faces setting in stone. Mercury and Raine darted back, another barrier beginning to form under Mercury. Emerald and Domino strode forward at an easy pace, Emerald loading her pistols while Domino slid a new Dust canister into her violin.

"I'm trying to come up with a cool one-liner," Emerald muttered, "but I'm drawing a blank. Wanna take the lead on this one?"

Domino grinned manically. "Let's kick the tires and light some fires!" A flourish of flame punctuated the statement.

Emerald shrugged. "… Yeah, that works." Domino cackled in response as she flew forward, musical notes causing more flames to burn away at the Geist's limbs. Emerald extended her sickle blades, severing connections where she could. The flames licked across the wood, making them more brittle as she slashed and fired pieces apart.

The Geist fought back, slamming its limbs down to try and hit the two. But their agility kept them just ahead of the worst of the blows, and every time the limbs came down, they could chip away at it bit by bit. It was a painful process, and both took some hard hits to do it, but the Geist's limbs eventually took enough damage that they fell apart under their own weight.

Emerald turned. "Mercury, now!"

Another shattering of glass, and Mercury _flew_ straight up, clearing the trees easily. She could almost see the cocky smirk on his face as he reached the apex of the jump, locking a Dust round into his boot. Mercury fell with a battle cry, speeding up before lining up for a kick at the mask.

Mercury's boot hit the face of the Geist, the blast-back sending him tumbling to the ground where Domino caught him mid-fall. Emerald was nearly sent reeling from the blast and its resulting roar. She drove her sickles into the ground to keep herself from being flung back alongside the loose leaves in the trees around her. When it died down, she looked up to see the true form of the Geist as it left its shattered shell to fly free.

A shot rang out, a perfect circular hole forming in the centre of the Geists' skull before it hit the ground, disintegrating. Raine strode forward, still-smoking rifle propped on her shoulder. The four took a moment to catch their breath.

"OK…" Mercury managed to gasp out. "Before any more Grimm show up, can we please get out of here?"

Everyone nodded mutely as they reloaded, before picking themselves up and hiking back to the cliffs, where hopefully no more surprises would be in store. Emerald had had quite enough of those for one day.

* * *

"Emerald Sustrai. Mercury Black. Domino Nutmeg. Raine Rubidium. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you shall be known as Team EMRD, led by… Emerald Sustrai."

"What." Emerald muttered flatly as the crowd applauded. Leader. Her. This… had to be a joke, right? She could barely lead a raid on Summer's cookie jar.

Mercury clapped her shoulder, snapping her out of the hopes this was just an awful hallucination. "So then boss, what's your first order of business?"

"Sleeping?"

"Words to live by," he assured her smarmily. God, she wanted to kick his ass. "Onward team, to the comfort of beds!"

She was either going to learn the true meaning of patience, or be guilty of a homicide charge by the end of the year. Emerald still wasn't quite sure which was more appealing. Right now though, she just wanted to sleep. Murder, grudging admiration or the realization of horror that the son of the man who kidnapped her sister was now her partner could come later.

* * *

 **So, two OCs are filling in the rest of Emerald's team. Domino "Donut" Nutmeg is basically just a Lindsey Stirling video made in Remnant (Look, if CRWBY can get away with Nyan Cat, I feel justified). Her style is what Stirling was wearing in the video for Roundtable Rival.**

 **Raine, meanwhile, takes a lot of design cues from Ana Amari from Overwatch; specifically, her Captain skin. Her weapon is more Widowmaker though (It was originally going to be a pair of SMGs that formed into a sniper rifle, but even within the context of RWBY's Rule of Cool, that stretched it a bit for me).**

 **Either way, glad to finally get this out. Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading.**


	15. Play it again, my Donut

_**Heart Thief Chapter 15**_

 **I have now made fifteen of these. Not sure if that's impressive or proof that I need a life.**

 **I partook in the RWBY Rarepair Week (by refusing to do it because the prompts sucked) and wrote some short stories. One of them is Emerald/Weiss if that tickles your fancy.**

 **Hope you enjoy. As usual, I own nothing.**

 **Emerald begins to form bridges between herself and her new teammates. (The chapter title is a reference to Johnny Guitar, I'm sorry I was rushing out the door when I uploaded these)**

* * *

"Hey boss?" Domino tapped Emerald on the shoulder as Team EMRD got out of their combat gear. "Can we talk?"

Emerald shrugged. "Sure." Domino led her away from the rest of the team, taking her to a pavilion beside the courtyard near the cafeteria.

It had been a few months now since Initiation, and things were… well, they weren't dead yet, so Emerald considered that a win. Mercury was a prick, but… actually no, Emerald couldn't think of any redeeming characteristics, he was just an asshole. Raine was the archetypical strong silent type, and she seemed to accept Emerald as leader faster than Emerald herself had. She still had to sometimes look at herself in the mirror to assure herself that yes, Ozpin was indeed that insane.

The problem was with Domino. Or Donut. In a lot of ways, Donut reminded Emerald of Ruby; excitable, using an eccentric weapon, generally alright and quite friendly. But she was a bit too friendly for Emerald. Far too fond of hugs, for one. Emerald was not a hugger until she got to know the person. The list of people she would hug was small and countable on her hands- Summer, Qrow, Yang, Ruby, Tai, Zwei. The rest of EMRD would make their way there eventually, but until then, she'd keep her distance. It wasn't anything personal, just how she lived.

Pity Domino never got that memo and seemed to ignore how Emerald became as ramrod straight as a building when the Faunus barrelled into her with a hug. It was a shame Domino's Semblance didn't let her read minds, or she'd have receive said memo already; _What the fuck are you doing I don't do hugs you little brat I am your leader I am a rock get off me if Mercury sees us I will never live this down._

Domino finally stopped, twisting the collar of her shirt. "Listen, boss… do you hate me?"

Emerald blinked. "What?"

"It's just, I know I can be… a bit much, and you seem to be the private type and that's fine! It'd be totally weird for us to spill our tragic backstories at this early point in our lives- not that I'm saying you have a tragic backstory but that's fine too, because you seem well adjusted and I'm rambling."

"Domino," Emerald sighed. "If I've made you feel like I dislike you, I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention, I just… trust slowly, and I'm not much of a hugger when it isn't my sister. It isn't personal, it's just me."

"Right." Domino didn't seem convinced.

"If there's a problem or something, feel free to talk to me. I'm your leader, and I should act like it. You ever wanna talk, come find me." Emerald struggled for a second. "And if anyone goes after you for…" she gestured towards Domino's bat ears, the appendages twitching, "those, let me know and I'll get Mercury to kick their legs in."

Domino smirked at that. "Ah, it's fine. The people are nice here! I haven't had fruit thrown at me once."

"Huh." Emerald blinked in surprise. "Wait, what?"

"I mean, I'm from Vacuo boss. Faunus discrimination isn't much of a thing there, but my family did worry a little." Domino frowned. "Sorry for assuming, but I thought you were from Vacuo."

"Nope. Raised in Patch."

"Did your parents move there?"

Emerald hesitated. She didn't much talk about her past, more because it just never came up. But good leaders were honest, at least that's what she thought the self-help book she'd swiped from the library told her. She relented eventually. "Wouldn't know. I'm adopted. My mom found me a town outside Vale."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Domino's ears flattened. "Have you ever tried to find them?"

Emerald shrugged. "Nah. What'd be the point? I don't care why they left me and I don't care enough to find out. Fuck 'em, I have a much better family now besides."

"I suppose that's what matters."

"What about you?"

"Parents and two brothers." Domino smiled wistfully. "They were so happy to hear I got into Beacon. Vacuo's not a great place to raise a kid, but they managed to do it three times, so kudos to them. I like to think I turned out alright."

"Barring the eclectic choice of weapon," Emerald replied drily. Domino merely shrugged in response. "So how are you with that thing? When you're not using it as a flamethrower."

Emerald couldn't help but shiver at the smirk Domino adopted. Cocksure, confident, and just a hint of crazed. The kind of smirk you never wanted to oppose. "Wanna find out?"

* * *

EMRD's dormitory was situated close to a balcony that overlooked the greenery around Beacon. Naturally protected from most of the elements by its placement alongside a wooden shelter overhead, several benches and plants gave it a homely feel. The team were sitting on some of these benches, Mercury hogging one by lounging on it while Raine sat conservatively with Emerald.

Emerald liked it out here- the view combined with the benches and the soft sounds of the wind to make a wonderful place to bring her notes and isolate herself from the world for an hour or so. Now, Domino had her violin on her lap, flicking the hairs of the bow upward. Any time what looked like dust particles didn't fly off with the flick, Domino applied a compound to the string. She nodded eventually, propping it on her shoulder. "You ready boss?"

"Rock our socks off, Donut."

Emerald didn't know music that well. She knew what she liked and what set her teeth on edge, and that was it. As such, she didn't have any real idea how to describe Domino's music. She really wished she did though, because it was beautiful. Like the slow, soothing rhythm of the ocean against rocks, Domino's violin created notes that weaved and soared around the balcony, an aria that landmarked this single speck of a moment in history as something more than just a fleeting fragment of memory, but a generator of warmth to huddle around in the cold nights to come.

Even Mercury was speechless as Domino wrapped up. "Holy shit," he muttered, sitting up straight.

"Yeah, pretty much that," Emerald mumbled. Raine had a slight smirk on her face as she took in their reaction. "Wait, did you know about this?"

"I asked Domino to play for me several weeks ago." She shrugged. "It's not my fault I wanted to keep this to myself; I haven't heard better performances from the Schnees. We had a bet on when you two would clue in."

"And I just thought you two were going off to fu-"

"Don't even think about finishing that sentence Mercury," Emerald snapped. Mercury raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Which reminds me." Raine stretched her hand out. "Pay up, mein Freund."

Domino groaned slightly, tossing her wallet into Raine's waiting hands. "You'll drive me bankrupt, Atlas." She was smiling as she did it, however. "Glad you two liked it.

"Liked it?" Emerald blinked. "That was amazing."

"Flatterer." A blush ran along the Faunus' cheeks. "But thanks. Care for an encore?"

"Sure." Emerald and Mercury got comfortable again as Domino brought her violin up to bear, twirling her bow a few times. They wound up staying there until the sun dipped below the hills, alternating between listening raptly at the music or talking about everything and nothing. It felt surprisingly good, Emerald mused. To while away the hours, laughing at bad jokes, mocking each other for their shortcomings and bolstering confidence where needed.

There was still progress to be made, undoubtedly. Emerald had plenty of olive branches to extend before they became a proper team. But today mattered, she felt. Every team needed to start somewhere, and this was their start point.

* * *

 **Sorry about the length; I like my chapters to be closer to two thousand words, but I'm hitting a brick wall and I'll break before it. College is back, so I'll try and update where I can, but don't expect miracles. There may be another chapter or two focused on team EMRD before RWBY enter the scene, and from there it'll be time for the romance.**

 **Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed.**


	16. Karaoke Night Fever

_**Heart Thief Chapter 16- Karaoke Night Fever**_

 **There was a bit of a delay when it came to this. Namely between the college workload starting and just hitting a brick wall when it came to good ideas for Heart Thief. Sorry, but this is gonna be happening again. Especially because the essays are gonna start soon.**

 **This takes place in a Happy Ending AU. Emerald's 21, putting Rubes at 17 and Yang at 19. It's also got some swearing, so… yeah, make of that what you will.**

* * *

Club LeBlanc, Vale:

Ruby loved Vale. The city's culture meant that you could walk down three different streets over four nights and hear a baker's dozen different stories. The city was extremely Hunter-friendly, meaning she didn't get second glances for carrying her Crescent Rose around in public. And as well, it was one of the best places Ruby had been in when it came to just going out for a night. Atlas was too prim and proper for her, Vacuo was often too raucous, and Mistral had an air to it that made her keep her hand on her wallet.

RWBY, JNPR and EMRD had gotten access to some exclusive club through Weiss, a club so special Yang hadn't managed to break in and start a fight in here yet. It seemed to have everything- free water and ice, alcoves for the lovebirds to get some alone time, a karaoke machine, and even a dancefloor.

And as such, Ruby was twirling a straw in a glass of ice water. Pyrrha was at least keeping her consumption to a minimum and was keeping company with Ruby, but the rest of their teams had no such concern. Even Blake was swept up in the revelry of free drinks. It was nice to see them letting their hair down and cutting loose, especially since Ruby had taken on the mantle of designated driver to cover for the team, but it could get lonely sometimes. Not that Ruby was much of a drinker herself, so it wasn't like she was missing out.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Pyrrha asked suddenly.

"Ah, just thinking. Exams are coming up and all, and… well, I'm not the most diligent note-taker in class." She chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. "So it's gonna be rough and tumble for the next few weeks unless I can see Weiss's notes."

"You'll find a way," Pyrrha assured her, gently scratching the back of her head. Ruby leaned into the touch, a content sigh escaping her lips as stress she didn't even know she had bled out of her.

Pyrrha glanced behind herself and Ruby, eyes widening slightly as she tried to suppress a giggle. "Although, I doubt she'll be able to stop you tomorrow if s seriously doing… _that_."

"Oh no," Ruby mumbled as she turned to see Weiss fiddling with a microphone by the karaoke machine. "Oh no…" she drew out the groan before her head met the table, shoulders stiffening from newfound stress.

Of course she got up after a few minutes to record all this because this was going to be legendary, but she took a moment to just lament her existence.

"Emerald Sustrai!" Weiss paused. "Or… Rose. Or Branwen, or Xiao-Long. Fuck, you have a lot of surnames." She trailed off, regaining her focus. "Look, you were saying I don't sing for you. So I just wanted to say you're a piece of crap, and I love you! So stop saying I don't sing for you!"

A piano began to blare out of the speakers. Pyrrha held a hand up to her mouth. "Ruby, how's your Atlesian?"

"So rusty there's nothing left to corrode?"

"Then you're missing out. This is a vintage in corny love songs in Atlas. I used to have to hear it whenever I had tournaments there."

"And Weiss is singing it?" Singing it well, Ruby noted. She at least assumed it was good singing, given how Weiss was singing in an entirely different language.

Pyrrha's composure finally broke. "Yes, and it's gloriously bad." Her own scroll came out as Pyrrha, now shaking with open laughter, began to record.

Ruby could see Emerald a bit ahead of her, head tilted slightly. It was hard to tell if she was asleep or merely as confused as Ruby was at this whole ordeal. Ruby flicked open a tab on her scroll, getting the translated lyrics.

"Aw," she said. "This is pretty sweet." The lyrics were rather sappy, true, but it was kind of adorable to see Weiss, someone usually quite tactiturn when it came to love and displays of affection, singing a song with lyrics like _"I don't tell you often enough: It's good that you are here,"_ and _"To hear you laughing makes me addicted, it almost sounds as if it wasn't from this earth."_

"I'll be right back," Ruby told Pyrrha, getting up (while leaving her scroll to still recording, this was going to be an instant classic) and moving over to Emerald's booth. "Hey sis."

"Hey Rubes." Emerald had a few glasses in front of her, but she seemed rather lucid. "This is happening, right?"

"Your girlfriend singing a love ballad to you in her native tongue?"

"Yeah, that's a thing that's happening? Not just Semblance fuckery?"

"Nope!"

Emerald narrowed her eyes at her sister. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Yep!" Ruby's smile could practically light up the night sky. Despite herself, Emerald found herself smiling as well between her sister's joy and Weiss's display.

"I'm guessing you're recording all this?"

Ruby looked mock-offended. "What kind of sister would I be if I didn't?"

Emerald snorted. "Good answer." Her expression softened as she looked at Weiss. "She didn't need to do this." She spoke barely above a whisper.

"But she did."

"Not entirely sure I'm worth the effort." Emerald's gaze fell. "You ever have that with Pyrrha? Where you just wake up, see them sleeping and think, 'God I don't deserve you?'"

"Well, not really." Ruby paused. Usually because Pyrrha's up well ahead of me."

Emerald chuckled, but Ruby pressed on. "Em, you know Weiss loves you. You deserve her because you're an awesome person who deserves to be happy, regardless of what those pesky thoughts say. I'll tell you that, mom and dad will tell you that, everyone here will. Including your girlfriend up there." Emerald sniffled. "Wait, are you crying?"

"Fuck off, I've got smoke in my eyes." Em was smiling as she said it though, eyes glistening. "Thanks Rubes. You're pretty good at that motivational crap." She rubbed her eyes clean, a glint lighting up her eyes in place of the tears. "I just had a really bad idea."

Weiss's song finished soon after, the heiress receiving some applause before coming over to Emerald and Ruby's booth. "Hey Ruby. I just sang." She proclaimed it like she'd just won a lottery.

"I'm… happy for you Weiss." Ruby was interrupted by Emerald slipping past her, striding confidently up to the karaoke machine.

Weiss nudged past Ruby as well, eyeing Ruby as she came in. "What did you tell her to do?"

"I swear, this isn't me! I was just talking, I have no control over this situation!"

"Weiss Schnee of the singular surname!" Emerald flashed a cocky smirk at the crowd. "I'm drunk and I can't sing, making me perfect for shit like this. Strap in kiddies!"

In sharp contrast to Weiss's soft piano backing, a funky pop beat reverberated through the club. Ruby's face met the desk and she could almost hear Pyrrha and Yang's laughter booming in the room. "Oh no…" she mumbled.

"What?" Weiss inquired.

"Emerald has a bit of a fondness for… what's the word you like? Oh yeah, risqué songs."

" _You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals, So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel…"_

Weiss blinked. "That is…wow."

"Yeah." Ruby's face had yet to lift from the table. "Most kids get into pop or kid-like music. Emerald was pirating this kind of stuff before she knew how to shoot a gun."

"Hmm." Ruby looked up finally, cringing lower into her seat as she did. She'd enjoy the recording of this, no doubt, but the realization that she had partly enabled this made her wish she wanted to take up drinking.

Emerald's song wrapped up mercifully quickly, but Weiss was out of the booth in a heartbeat, whispering something (probably something salacious- and people thought Ruby couldn't learn big words) into Emerald's ear that made the green-haired woman turn as red as Pyrrha's hair for a moment before she were dragged into the men's room.

* * *

The bathrooms were kept quite clean, Emerald mused. An oddity given how it was the men's room in a popular club, but she figured you paid for cleanliness.

Weiss practically growled at Emerald as she slammed the older woman against the wall, holding her there for a blistering kiss. Emerald chuckled.

"What, was the song that bad, Habibti?"

"Shut up and kiss me." That was definitely a snarl, and Emerald felt shivers run down her back.

"Well, if that's what you want, I shall oblige…"

Weiss began to kiss along Emerald's neck. She smiled, resting her head back and closing her eyes as the sensations ran along her collarbone. Her eyes opened, and Emerald froze in place.

"Uh, Weiss…" Weiss pulled back, if reluctantly, eyeing Emerald.

"What?"

Emerald gestured with her head to the left. Weiss turned, locking eyes with Jaune and Ren, who looked similarly dishevelled. The two couples stared at each other for a moment.

"Hey…" Jaune trailed off. "Good singing out there, you two!"

The silence trailed on. It became quite awkward.

"Should we go?" Ren murmured.

"I mean, you got here first," Emerald muttered.

"Please let death take me." Weiss groaned, resting her head in the crook of Emerald's neck.

"Oh don't be like that Weiss!" Jaune was way too peppy. "I think-"

"If you wish to see the sun rise again Jaune," Weiss said deadpan, "you'll shut up and forget this ever happened."

"I think that's our cue." Ren pulled Jaune down, smoothed out his shirt. "We'd best be on our way anyway before Nora tries flirting with the waitress." He nodded casually to Emerald and Weiss. "See you two around."

The guys left the bathroom. Emerald started to laugh. It was oddly funny to her, especially when Weiss groaned again. "Anyway…" Emerald trailed off. "Where were we?"

Weiss kissed her. Ah, that's where they were.

* * *

 **Apologies again for the delay. Apologies in advance for when this becomes the new normal, sorry. Hope you enjoyed it at least.**

 **Weiss's song is "Das Beste" by Silbermond. I have been assured it is corny as all hell in German. Emerald's first song is "Bad Touch" by the Bloodhound Gang. Because go fuck yourself Qley. From a friend, I was told her encore would have been Lil Jon's "Get Low." Because I am friends with a bunch of people that have… eclectic tastes in music (I like all these songs so I can't complain more than I already have).**

 **Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. Have an omake:**

* * *

Weiss restrained herself from immediately dragging Emerald into a bathroom after Emerald's song about "mating like mammals." She may have been drunk and needed a second to reorient herself.

But before she could give Emerald a piece of her mind (violently. With her tongue), a cry began to sound in the room.

"Encore, Encore!"

Pyrrha had to be enabling anyone who went on the stage for the purposes of getting as much good footage as she could. Weiss almost admired it.

Emerald seemed to take the sudden attention poorly for a second. However, the cockiness that could only be inherited from Qrow Branwen fuelled her ego, and she smirked before lining up another song.

 _"To the windowwwww, to the walll!"_

This should not have been turning Weiss on as much as it was.

"Weiss, you useless lesbian," she grumbled to herself.


	17. Dust Up in From Dust Till Dawn

_**Heart Thief Chapter 17**_

 **Hey, I'm actually alive. I'm as shocked as you are. *** _ **Shrugs***_ **What can I say, college. You get three essays due within a week and a half of each other. So how about Volume 5, eh? Kinda bummed that Em's not in the OP, but whatever.**

 **In which being a Rose/Sustrai means you're an effective disaster magnet and can't even buy a magazine without being robbed.**

 **RWBY ain't mine. Em's 19, Ruby's 15.**

* * *

Emerald loved Vale. It was hard not to love the tall buildings, diverse culture and easy marks to pickpocket- Mercury's words, not hers, she would categorically deny engaging in such blatantly illegal actions. It didn't mean he was wrong, just that she'd lie. She especially wouldn't do it around her young, impressionable sister. Ruby was a pure cinnamon bun of energy and life and needed to be protected at all costs from things like the Grimm, the fact that Santa Claus wasn't real, and Mercury's general existence. School was about to kick off for another year of collective hijinks, Ruby nearly ready to graduate Signal, Yang coming in for her first year at Beacon, and Emerald continuing to attend the academy. Ruby had hopped onto the boat to Vale with Yang to send her off, so Emerald chose to take her sister out for a (legal) night on the town.

There was one problem to Emerald's master plan. Everything had closed early, which put a nail into the tire of Emerald's master plan adventure for herself and her little sister. But a Sustrai never admitted defeat, so Emerald chose to instead just get Ruby a parting present for the road in a magazine subscription. Luckily, one such shop was open even at this relatively late hour (Emerald did have one issue with Vale in that everything closed a bit early for her), proudly called From Dust 'Till Dawn. The shopkeeper barely paid the two sisters any heed as they walked in.

"Alright Rubes, go grab whatever you want, it's on me."

Ruby simply smiled with glee before dashing off, showing remarkable restraint in not using her Semblance to speed through the store containing volatile Dust. Emerald simply sighed quietly before moving over to the Dust, grabbing a few rounds (she'd needed a resupply anyway).

A few minutes of one-sided chatter with the shopkeeper ensued while Emerald waited for Ruby to come back out. Knowing her she'd have read the whole thing before coming out and buying it. The door opened behind Emerald, and she turned to see some smug little prick in a white coat and bowler hat flanked by goons. She recognised him- Roman Torchwick, the criminal robbing Dust shops across Vale. She didn't recognise his posse, but all of them were openly armed.

Emerald's eyes narrowed as her hands went for her guns- only for two of the hired goons to aim at her face before she could draw. Firing inside the store would've been a bad idea regardless.

Torchwick winked at Emerald, putting out his fancy cigar on the counter. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?"

"Please, just take my Lien and leave!" One of the goons moved towards the side of the store Ruby was in. Hopefully she didn't decide to put her headphones on. Hopefully she'd be calling the police now. Or planning an ambush. Or something.

"Calm down, we're not here for your money." Torchwick eyed his men. "Grab the dust, you keep an eye on tube-top here."

Emerald's eyebrow rose as the robbers shifted their aim back to her. "Tube top? Seriously? That's the best you've got?"

Torchwick stopped, his eye pausing at the hands nearly at her pistols. "You're right, I'm sorry. You deserve better than that..." Torchwick paused for effect, leaning on his cane as he smirked at Emerald, "Grinch?"

Emerald sighed, shrugging. "It's better. If only," she added with a mutter.

"See? This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, Grinch!" His expression hardened. "Now drop the guns and kick them over here, before we sully that friendship."

A growl escaped Emerald's lips, but slowly, her guns hit the floor before she kicked them over. Emerald kept her eyes on Roman, but spied one of the goons striding over to where Ruby would still be buried in her magazine. Fragments of a conversation passed over the stalls, just audible over the sound of Dust being loaded into containers.

"I said, hands in the air!"

"Are you… robbing me?"

"Yes!"

Emerald snickered. Roman eyed her. "What?"

"Nothing, just…" she shook her head, tensing her legs. "Those guys. How's their health insurance?"

And that was when Ruby kicked a man out of a window. Roman just sighed, eyeing Emerald. "Huntresses?"

She nodded. "Huntresses."

It was Roman's turn to growl, and that was when Emerald struck. As far as Roman saw, Emerald started to lean against the counter, smirking. In truth, she ducked into a slide, grabbing her pistols and kicking Roman against the wall. She let her Semblance fade as she thumbed back the hammers, smiling casually at Ruby, who was outside and extending Crescent Rose.

"Having fun, sis?"

"I'm about to." The robbers drew cleavers and pistols. Emerald's smile became a feral grin. "Let's dance."

"OK…" Torchwick said slowly. He looked at his men. "Well, get them!"

The first casualty of the night was the poor fool who tried to grab Emerald's arm. She stomped down on his foot, driving her knee up into the groin as she fired at Torchwick. His cane deflected most of the shots without him even breaking eye contact, save for one that ricocheted off the wall and hit his hat from the side.

Roman blinked for a second, just watching as Emerald laid out another goon before starting to almost literally fume. "Oh, you are gonna pay for that, Grinch."

Emerald kicked another goon out a window, flashing a smirk at Roman. "Take your shot, pumpkin."

"And now _you_ need to work on your nicknames," he growled as he moved in to strike.

* * *

Much as Emerald loved Vale, she hated its police station. Then again, she hated the police in general, so that was to be expected. But for all the spleandour that Vale had to offer on an architectural level, that the police station was a flat, brown piece of trash made her want to scream.

So what if they'd damage the street a little when taking care of Torchwick's goons? Their weapon licenses were up to date and they'd stopped Torchwick from getting away with his Dust. Sure, he'd gotten away with the aid of some lady in a dropship, but it was otherwise a completely perfect victory.

At least Goodwitch had come personally to solve this issue with the police. Mercury would have laughed his ass off the entire way home if he'd learned about this. But while getting Emerald out was easy enough, she'd been inside with Ruby for a while. And that was before Ozpin had walked in, the enigmatic weirdo that he was. Overall, Emerald was pacing a hole in the lobby of this police station and about ten minutes from staging a breakout attempt.

But then the door opened. Emerald let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when Ruby came out, looking almost jubilant. Goodwitch followed, such a sharp contrast in mood compared to Ruby that it was like watching fire and ice. Ozpin came out last, his usual mysterious self.

"You look happy for someone with a criminal record," Emerald said drily as she pulled Ruby into a hug.

"No conviction, so as far as the world cares I'm squeaky clean!"

"And thus your dark secret remains a secret for another day," she mumbled, ruffling Ruby's hair. "alright then Rubes, let's get you to bed. You've gotta be back at Signal soon."

Glynda's glower only worsened while Ozpin chuckled lightly. Ruby squirmed in Emerald's hug. "Uh…"

Emerald frowned, looking between the teachers and Ruby. A part of her brain finally sparked together enough lightning Dust to set off a lightbulb. "Wait, are you…" Em trailed off. "I have nothing. I'm both shocked and not at all surprised at this. At least Yang won't be lonely, I guess."

* * *

It must have run in the family that a Rose/Sustrai would be leader of their team. First Summer, then Emerald and now Ruby. Em had been bogged down in early schoolwork as the third year began so it was nearly a week after the initiation that she finally got to drop by and meet Ruby's team. The bunk beds were certainly an inspired choice (Yang had spent an hour convincing Emerald that yes, they were sturdy enough to work), but they fit the room well.

Em had seen Yang's partner Belladonna around a little bit in the library, which automatically bumped her up a few points n Emerald's book. But Emerald had yet to so much as see Ruby's partner, the illustrious Weiss Schnee. Emerald had joked about using Weiss's credit card to cover their Dust costs, but barring that the topic had never come up.

Finally, her schedule cleared and she was awake enough to meet with Ruby, who was telling the story about how she'd killed a Nevermore. God, she'd missed this. Ruby's infectious smile, her easy laugh, and-

Emerald's thoughts were interrupted by a new face walking in and… holy _crap_ , she was beautiful. Pale like snow on a cloudy day, eyes almost the exact shade of ice and just as hard, lips set in a frown like the world was always beneath her (Em could relate, Mercury called it her 'resting bitch face' before he got a boot to the head). She was beautiful, she was graceful, and she looked like the kind of person you wanted to step on you. Emerald immediately liked her before she even opened her mouth.

"Ruby, I need my notes from Doctor Oobleck's class- oh. Who are you?"

"Oh, Weiss!" Ruby jumped up, Emerald following. "Meet Emerald Sustrai, my sister!"

"I'm adopted," Emerald mumbled as Weiss looked between Ruby and Emerald, brain doing the usual mental mathematics that came when Ruby forgot to include that detail. "So, you're Ruby's partner?" She held out a hand. "Pleased to meet you. I'm the aforementioned Emerald Sustrai."

Weiss took the hand. "Charmed, I'm sure. I'm Weiss Schnee."

Both looked awkwardly at Ruby as she tried and failed miserably to hide a squeal of joy. "My sister and partner are friends now!" Ruby pulled the two into a tight hug, ignoring their choked protests. "Best. Day. Ever!"

"Can't… breathe…" Weiss croaked out.

"I can see the light…" Emerald wheezed.

From across the room, Yang watched the proceedings before eyeing Blake with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't even think about it," Blake said flatly.

* * *

 **I love Roman too much. So really, he had to show up.**

 **I am a bit worried about this bit being a bit too close to canon, but my rule for AUs tends to be "If you don't have a reason to change it, don't bother." Most of the changes in Heart Thief are just the logical ones that ensue from Emerald not being a villain, which would not include Roman's robbery. Hence why I didn't include the fight scene, since that really went as canon- Ruby and Em took out Roman's goons, he made an escape, Cinder bailed him out, cut to the police station.**

 **A couple of people have asked about Cinder and Mercury in regards to canon. Still not gonna say anything here, but I do have a few options I'm considering. The one that'll likely happen is that I'll be making angsty stories under one timeline, but most of the chapters will fall under the Chibi rule of "Nothing Bad Ever Happened." This falls into the second category.**

 **To make up for the hiatus, and presumably to make up for the ones that come after it, have an actual Em/Weiss short. This was inspired by a beautiful piece of the two as drawn by the ever-amazing Raffurano, who also supplied the art for the story on fanfiction dot net. Hope you like it.**

* * *

The picnic was nice. Not that Emerald could admit it, she always fumbled her words when emotions and shot got involved. But Weiss seemed OK with Em just holding her hand tight and smiling at her, the two illuminated by the moonlight and stars overhead.

At the moment though, Emerald's back was to Weiss, at the heiress's request. She seemed to be fashioning something, if poorly judging by how Emerald had heard a few muffled curses.

"You, uh, need a hand?" She asked wryly over her shoulder.

Weiss huffed indignantly. Emerald could almost see the exhalation of breath in her mind's eye. "I have this! It just looked easier in the tutorial is all. Give me a second."

Emerald couldn't help the chuckle that slipped out, which was only assisted by Weiss huffing again. But she listened to Weiss's instruction and kept her back to the Schnee, letting her mind wander as she took in the stars above. A book she'd read years ago rustled her memory, dragging up old pages talking about constellations and how to stargaze.

Something landing on her head broke Emerald out of the memory. She turned to Weiss, who was blushing (when did Weiss blush, that was new) while smiling softly at the sight. Emerald's hand gently came up to feel… flowers, before it lowered slightly.

"Did you-" she blinked. "You made a flower crown?"

Weiss's hand came up to gently brush Emerald's cheek, the blush fading from her cheeks as she just smiled at Emerald. Like she was prettier than the stars in the sky above.

"You are so beautiful," she murmured. Emerald didn't really have a response to that because a few flustered sounds, her usual reaction when things got mushy and emotional, so she did what felt natural at the time and kissed Weiss.

It was a good reaction. She liked it.

"I'm more beautiful for knowing you," she muttered as she pulled back.


	18. A Simple Plan

_**Heart Thief Chapter 18**_

 **I'm not dead. It's as much a shock to you as it is me that I'm updating this for the first time since… October? Yeah, listen, college happened, it sucked, except for all the bits that didn't suck. I did not mean to leave this hanging for as long as I did. And for that, I am sorry.**

 **But you don't care about that, you just want fluff. And it's Christmas, so… fluff it is.**

 **Ruby's eight, so Emerald's twelve. Though really this can work at any point in Ruby's life. You'll see why.**

* * *

Snow was always something that was best enjoyed from a distance. Patch was always covered in a thick blanket of white come wintertime. Houses would peek out under their new white caps, footsteps, tire tracks and paw prints crisscrossed each other around the labyrinth of paths, carving a way for the next crowd to walk through. Aside from the brown of the denuded trees, the only other color was the vivid saffron staining around the base of each lamppost, tree and shrub. Snow was a beautiful image.

The downside, however, was living with the accursed stuff. Cold mornings, slippery roads, no direct sunlight and instead just an ever-present mass of grey clouds. The chill could have been far worse, Emerald knew. At least this year she was inside when the sun would set, and the night-time chills settled in.

In fact, there were many good things that came with the snow, so it wasn't all doom and gloom when it did come. Even if Emerald herself was mixed on the holiday, Christmas was a time of year where people were a little less awful to each other. Silly jumpers, cheap goods in stores, pretty lights everywhere (Emerald was a sucker for a good light show; she'd made use of enough of them as distractions in the past), and special festive food. Like Summer's cookies.

Summer's normal cookies were to die for- literally, Ruby could be fierce like a Beowolf if something got between her and those cookies ("I'm not that bad!" Ruby had pouted when Emerald had made the observation to Yang, her point undercut by how she was chowing down on a couch cushion in desperation). As such, for the most part, Emerald was content to live and let live- let Ruby have the cookies, while Emerald lived. It wasn't malicious on Ruby's part, so there was no bad blood as a consequence.

The sole exception was at Christmas. Summer added _something_ to the cookies at Christmas; a mint, perhaps, or maybe she just used a different chocolate. Regardless, it was divine. If one looked up ambrosia in the dictionary, a picture of Summer taking out those cookies at Christmas would be found within. Ruby's usual kleptomania and rapid-fire thievery of cookies would not be allowed during December; Emerald would steal the cookies from the cookie master. It would be no small task. A war would be fought. People would experience salvation, and Patch as a civilisation would prosper when Emerald got to eat those cookies instead of Ruby.

Her plan was devised across several days in the lead up to Christmas. Emerald's room transformed into something out of a heist film; a large whiteboard with various plans adored a wall, the blinds were put in place to only let the light through in sharp angles (alongside all the Christmas lights Emerald had "borrowed" and tied to her ceiling), and Emerald began making sporadic appearances to the outside world. Appearing for food and required social meetings, she would dart back into her room swiftly after. Rudy had a place of honor, overlooking the board and acting as a soundboard for the young thief.

Three days of planning had led to this exact moment, this heist of ages that would see sweet crumbly goodness in the hands of Emerald and not the Crimson Reaper (as the board called Ruby). Emerald had devised a three-part scheme that would make a master thief weep with its simplicity and elegance.

Step 1- Immobilize the Reaper.

This part was the most complex- if Ruby learned that a batch of cookies existed at all, the plan was compromised. Thus, around when Summer would be creating the batch, Ruby would need to be distracted or unable to seize the prize for herself. But she obviously couldn't do anything too inhumane, so she resorted to an underhanded ploy.

She asked Yang if she'd mind taking Ruby out for a few hours so that Emerald could get some quiet in the house. A quick lie that she had a school project due when she got back was easy for Yang to swallow, and thus Ruby was out of the house for a short period of time. This had to be timed smoothly; Ruby had to gone just long enough for the cookies to be made, so Emerald had to send the message asking Yang to pick up Ruby at a precise time.

Step 2: Be ready for the arrival.

The next step was as simple as sitting on a couch and reading a book with a forced casual air. The perfect position to be ready to intercept the ambrosia and partake in that chocolate goodness.

"Emerald?" Summer's head poked out of the kitchen. "I'm making cookies, you want some?"

Emerald suppressed the instinctual jolt and thrill that ran down her spine at the words. "Sounds neat," she replied calmly, flicking a page.

"Have you seen Ruby?"

"Yang took her out for a little bit."

"Huh. Well, I'll just leave some on a platter for her. They'll be ready soon."

Emerald held back on the urge to punch the air with joy until Summer's footsteps went back into the kitchen. After that, the plan did allot for a short period of fist-pumping to celebrate the plan making it this far. Now it all came down to this string of good luck continuing for a little bit longer- and Qrow was out of town for a while so that particular miscalculation had been accounted for. Emerald was quite proud of this plan, it would go down as her finest moment. She was unable to beat Ruby's speed, so she used her mental acumen. Nothing could go wrong now.

Step 3. Intercept and enjoy.

The oven's _ding_ could be heard from the living room. All earlier attempts at acting calm and rational were swept away like sand being swept like an oceanic wave. Emerald was almost vibrating with excitement, darting past Summer when she began to call for Emerald. She stood in the centre of the kitchen, eyes wide and agape at the fresh plate awaiting her. A siren's song that begged for her to not listen to the voice of common sense that pointed out that they were fresh out the oven and would be supremely hot to the touch. Shaped in a mixture of trees and stars, an eclectic but refined mixture of caster sugar, vanilla, icing, flour and other ingredients. Red and green sprinkles adorned the little treats, some of the sprinkles even shaped like stars and hearts to make the image all the more tantalizing. Summer's cookies could bring adults to their knees (she'd seen it with Qrow and Taiyang. Jokingly or not, they had both taken to one knee and begged for the cookies), cure famine and disease. And they were hers. A complete plate, all hers for the taking. Her plan was a complete success, Emerald mused as she reached out for the plate, from here the world was her oyster-

The door opened behind her. "Hey mom, I'm home- COOKIES!"

A red streak flew past Emerald, nearly knocking her off her feet. Where once there had been a plate that called to Emerald with the cookies it carried, now there was only a plate that was spinning in the wind without anything left. A trail of rose petals had circled around Emerald, flying upstairs where several doors and drawers could be heard.

Yang winced from the door. "She forgot her coat and wanted to get it before we headed out into the snow." A sympathetic hand clasped Emerald's shoulder. "Sorry Em, I tried to delay her."

"I… I was so close… I could almost taste them…" Emerald was muttering to herself, blind to the world around her.

"I can just make another batch?" Summer muttered. "I really do need to curb her diet anyway."

"It's fine," Emerald heard herself saying. She robotically got up and threw on a coat. "I'll be right back."

Emerald put on her boots and left via the back door, walking in a daze until she was several minutes from the house. Resting her head against a tree, Emerald let out a sigh as she mentally noted that she had forgotten the fourth part of her plan, and resolved to add it post-haste.

Step 4. Lament your existence and wonder what is even the point after it all goes wrong.

Emerald's skull met the tree. Slowly, she sank to her knees and groaned softly. What even was the point of life, of calling herself a thief, when she couldn't even steal a damn plate of cookies? What right did she have to refer to herself as the Master Thief when she was outsmarted by an eight-year-old with super speed? The years of training and scrounging, of analysing her marks… and she couldn't even best her adoptive sister. She was pathetic. A waste of a thief-

"Emerald?"

Emerald lifted her head, seeing a pair of concerned silver eyes. Ruby, now wearing her coat and holding an outstretched arm that had the plate on it, alongside some of the cookies.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Ruby's other hand rubbed the back of her head. "I've been taking stuff without asking and that's wrong."

It was awkward as all hell. Emerald could practically hear Summer's gentle lecture echoing in Ruby's head as she asked Ruby to go apologize to Emerald. But heck, she'd take it.

"It's fine Ruby." Emerald swallowed. "I should've talked to you about it sooner. I mean, you do have a habit of just snatching food before anyone can react-"

"Hey, that's a charming flaw, not an irritating one!"

Emerald stared flatly at Ruby. "Try living with it," she replied drily, "but seriously, no harm no fowl. So long as I get that plate."

"Or else?"

Emerald simply smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

The plate swiftly made its way into Emerald's expectant hands. Within moments it was stripped to the bone of its contents. Even with the mild chill in the air, the cookies were… delightful. Emerald could see why Ruby was so possessive of the treats. Heaven on earth was a mildly accurate description. They were delicious, delectable, mouth-watering, tasty, delightful, gorgeous, lip smacking, yummy, wonderful in taste and aroma; never unappetizing, and other words that the dictionaries said could be used to describe good-tasting food.

Emerald was so enraptured that she forgot about the world around her, only coming back to reality when Ruby coughed uncomfortably. "I don't wanna be a sourpuss, but it is getting pretty cold out. Can we go back?"

Emerald blinked. "Uh, yeah, sure. Let's go." Tucking the plate against her side, Emerald grabbed Ruby and hoisted her up for a piggyback ride (thank the gods for growth spurts). Ruby giggled at the motion as the two trudged back through the snow, Emerald adding one final step to the plan as she walked.

Step 5. Realize that you still have a good life and the minor setbacks aren't too bad in the grand scheme of things.

God, she could almost imagine Yang's quip about reading too many thesauruses in the back of her head after she thought that.

* * *

 **Did I do it? I finally wrote a Heart Thief chapter. God, that took a while to do.**

 **For the record, Emerald's plan was initially going to include a Mission Impossible style cable drop into the kitchen the snatch the cookies before I realized "oh right, Em could just ask Summer for some, so she doesn't need to sneak around Summer."**

 **I wanna do another Christmas chapter with Weiss, so hopefully I'll get that done before March. In the meantime, I'm gonna be working on another project that's got my interest (alongside random oneshots that I do in the meantime like Applecider) called Rhinestone Heart- a steampunk thief AU that'll probably wind up with Emerald and Weiss hooking up (I'm predictable). Assuming of course that it suffers the same fate as Heart Thief and goes MiA over my college semester. Sorry about that again, BTW.**

 **But anyway, hope you had a happy Christmas, see you in 2018.**


End file.
